Michel Barnier’s Brexit trade deal warning

The furore over the Brexit divorce bill has been such that it is easy to forget that it isn’t the only major sticking point in talks with the EU. Theresa May looks set to up Britain’s offer this week (from €20bn to around €40bn), in the hope that more cash on the table will unlock the next stage of negotiations. But Michel Barnier’s speech today should serve as a warning to the British government: things won’t necessarily get easier when the Brexit divorce bill is sorted. In fact, Barnier makes it clear that talks could get even more difficult.

The EU’s chief negotiator hinted that Britain would still miss out on a trade deal if it doesn’t agree to tie itself down to a ‘European model’ after Brexit. Here’s what Barnier said:

The UK has chosen to leave the EU. We respect this choice. Does it want to stay close to the European model? Or does it want to gradually move away from it? And the UK’s reply to these questions will be very important, and even decisive, because it will shape the discussion on our future relationship, and shape also the condition for ratification of that partnership in many national parliaments, and obviously in the European parliament.