The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has announced that Europe will insist the UK continues to fall under European Court of Justice jurisdiction following its exit.
The UK has previously declared that once it withdraws from the European Union, it would no longer fall under European Court of Justice jurisdiction, but now Barnier has revealed that the EU will insist on ongoing judicial oversight for the court remain part of any prospective Brexit deal.
Speaking at the Hannover Messe event in Hanover, Germany – which is one of the largest trade fairs in the world for industrial technology – Barnier sought to reassure attendees that the single market would not significantly suffer from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and emphasise that the EU and the UK are both seeking the least disruptive Brexit process possible.
What did Barnier say?
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator emphasised that for the EU27, only 6% of trade is with the UK, while 60% of trade takes place within the single market; this means that the economic impact of Brexit will be limited he argued.
Barnier said: “The single market at 27 [countries] will consist of 440 million consumers and 22 million enterprises. EU citizens and businesses will continue to trade without barriers – based on the trust that is created by our common rules and common legal order. We can never make compromises on these fundamental principles of the EU because of Brexit.”
The negotiator also sought to reassure the event’s attendees that the EU was taking steps to guarantee that companies which rely on trade with the UK will not suffer unduly following Brexit. This, he suggested, is a strong motivating factor for the EU’s position in negotiations.
However, he warned that the UK’s position might make securing this more complicated. Barnier explained: “The UK will be leaving the single market and the customs union. The UK wants to diverge from EU rules. The UK wants an independent trade policy, and it wants to end the direct jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.”
With these proposals – and particularly a desire to end European Court of Justice jurisdiction – Barnier warned that the UK is closing doors which could prevent the adoption of the wide-ranging free trade agreement that the EU is seeking from the departing country.
Oh dear. President Elect Barnier has once again sought to bully rather than negotiate – indeed from day 1 of the process M Barnier and Co have done nothing. Even in his world a claimed 6% of trade with the UK represents one tenth of the EU member state trade. That’s quite a drop.
Bottom line: The UK, nor any of the other EU member states appreciate strong arm tactics from Brussles. Time for EU reform, and hopefully not the election of the useless M Barnier to replace the ever so ineffective M J-C Juncker. After all, M Selmayr is the main power house.