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Following the first round of negotiations between the two 100-strong teams, the EU’s chief negotiator said there were many “serious divergences” between the two sides.
The problematic areas were said to range from the maintenance of a level playing field for British and European businesses to the role of the European court of justice and conditions on future access for European fishing fleets to British waters.
In response, a UK government spokesman said there were “expected, significant differences” but that the final deal had to respect that the country would be outside the orbit of EU law or its courts.
As he ran through the main obstacles to a deal, Barnier warned that the British position on the role of European courts threatened “the level of ambition of our cooperation” on joint work to fight crime, terrorism and money laundering.
He said the UK had informed him that “they do not wish formally to commit to continuing to apply the European convention on human rights, nor do they wish to permit the European court of justice to play its full role in interpreting EU law”.
Barnier said that on issues such as the exchange of personal data, including DNA, the UK’s formal commitment to the convention on human rights and the recognition in any trade deal of the role of the court of justice as the arbiter of EU law was a “must have”.
“This is serious, I say this is grave, because if the United Kingdom’s position does not move it will have an immediate and concrete effect on the level of ambition of our cooperation,” he said.
The British government has not said it will quit the European convention on human rights but it does not believe the EU should demand obligations in a treaty beyond that agreed by other independent countries.
Boris Johnson’s government also insists that there should not be a role for the European court of justice within any future treaty, while accepting that the court interprets EU law for member states.
A UK source close to the negotiations said the government’s “determination to regain independence did not compromise our commitment to high standards in all areas” including in human rights.
“But that doesn’t mean that we can accept a relationship that limits our freedom to legislate in those areas or enforce the supremacy of the law,” the source added.
On the EU’s demand that any free-trade deal must involve signing up to current European regulations on environment, workers’ rights and state aid for companies, British negotiators have said they intend to maintain high standards but oppose making them a precondition for a trade deal.
“Whilst we agree on preserving high standards, my question is why not commit to them formally? It is a question of trust,” Barnier said. [...]