Stand up to EU bullies, UK's ex-foreign minister Johnson says

[webfact]

Stand up to EU bullies, UK's ex-foreign minister Johnson says

 

Conservative MP Boris Johnson walks through his garden at his home near Oxford, Britain, October 3, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Files

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain must stand up to bullies in the European Union and press for a "super Canada" free trade deal, former foreign minister Boris Johnson said, increasing pressure on his former boss, Prime Minister Theresa May, over Brexit.

 

In his weekly column in the Telegraph newspaper to be published on Monday, Johnson, who was the figurehead of the campaign to leave the EU, said the Brexit negotiations were entering a "moment of crisis" and that May should change tack.

 

With less than six months before Britain leaves the EU in its biggest shift in trade and foreign policy in more than 40 years, the latest round of talks in Brussels failed to clinch a deal on Britain's divorce terms, with negotiators pausing negotiations just days before a leaders' summit.

 

Johnson, the bookmakers' favourite to replace May, is the latest critic to redouble efforts to urge the prime minister to rethink her plan to leave the EU.

 

"There comes a point when you have to stand up to bullies. After more than two years of being ruthlessly pushed around by the EU, it is time for the UK to resist," he wrote.

 

"There is a better solution ... It is the Super Canada, zero tariff, zero quota, free trade deal at the heart of a deep and special partnership. It is right for both sides, and it is time to go for it."

 

The latest round of Brexit talks faltered over the so-called backstop arrangement to prevent the return of a hard border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland, a part of the withdrawal agreement on divorce terms.

 

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the two sides could still not bridge a gap between his demands that Northern Ireland stay in the EU's economic zone and London's rejection of any checks on trade between the province and the British mainland.

 

Brexit campaigners, like Johnson, are also fearful the government is trying to agree a non time-limited backstop to keep the whole country inside a customs union with the EU indefinitely - something they say will not deliver Brexit.

 

May insists any customs arrangement as part of the backstop must be temporary, but the EU has refused to set an end date.

 

"In presuming to change the constitutional arrangements of the United Kingdom, the EU is treating us with naked contempt," Johnson wrote.

 

"It is time to scrap the backstop, and simply agree what is manifestly the case - that no one wants any new physical checks at the northern Irish border, and nor is there any need for them."

 

Instead, he said, Britain should pursue an enhanced version of the Canada free trade deal with the EU.

 

"We still have ample time to make it work," he wrote.

 

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-15

[whatsupdoc]

The same old tired rhetoric again.....

The UK voted to leave, not the EU. And the UK can leave (with no deal) and the EU would respect that choice. But if you want something from the EU, like any kind of trade deal, you have to respect the rules of the EU. 

The "bullying" by the EU only exists in the minds of Brexiteers.

[OneMoreFarang]

Yesterday I read a long article about all the different fraction within the UK parliament and what they want and not want and what they would accept and all their red lines. Summary: There is no majority for any EU deal within the UK parliament. It does not matter what kind of deal May will try to do with the EU because it will be rejected by enough MPs that it won't happen.

 

Personally I think the EU should just leave the UK alone and let them sort out what they want. Why should the EU spend all that time and effort to make a deal which will never happen because more than half of the UK MPs reject it?

[ardsong]

@OneMoreFarang quote Why should the EU spend all that time and effort to make a deal which will never happen because more than half of the UK MPs reject it? unquote

 

the EU is waiting for the Euro 50 billion.

And ... EU might fear that the North Sea, will become the Mediterranean for the future as thousand of British economical migrants try to cross the North Sea on half broken ships to reach EU in search for a better life; where they will be assembled in illegal immigration camps till they can be processed to be deported back as they will be not accepted ; Mrs May and her team is soo nice and could hardly be of any danger to these illegal British immigrants.

[Bluespunk]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

"There comes a point when you have to stand up to bullies. After more than two years of being ruthlessly pushed around by the EU, it is time for the UK to resist," he wrote.

 

"There is a better solution ... It is the Super Canada, zero tariff, zero quota, free trade deal at the heart of a deep and special partnership. It is right for both sides, and it is time to go for it."

[champers]

Boris. Eton. Bullying. "You! Cameron minor. Toast my crumpets". He knows.

[dunroaming]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

"There is a better solution ... It is the Super Canada, zero tariff, zero quota, free trade deal at the heart of a deep and special partnership. It is right for both sides, and it is time to go for it."

That will be the deal you and your Brexiteer chums declined to endorse recently when you were going to propose it to counter the Chequers deal.  Remember you ran away from that one and never came up with an alternative at all.  If Johnson knows what we should do then why doesn't he step up and challenge May for the leadership?  Gutless coward comes to mind!

[mfd101]

"A deep and special partnership". Yes that's what we want. That's why we keep calling them names like any nincompoop child would when losing out on the village playground ...

 

The one thing that's clear from all this is that, whatever the outcomes - and even if the Brits do actually change their collective minds & stay in, it will be DECADES before any European government again trusts or otherwise relies on the Brits for ANYTHING.

[Burma Bill]

Well said Boris!

[dunroaming]

2 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

"A deep and special partnership". Yes that's what we want. That's why we keep calling them names like any nincompoop child would when losing out on the village playground ...

 

The one thing that's clear from all this is that, whatever the outcomes - and even if the Brits do actually change their collective minds & stay in, it will be DECADES before any European government again trusts or otherwise relies on the Brits for ANYTHING.

Need to replace these useless so called politicians and we will soon get our credibility back.  All the political parties need a clear out and some new blood brought in.

[iroc4life]

At least there is 1 man in the UK with a pair to say what he thinks ????????

[bristolboy]

4 minutes ago, iroc4life said:

At least there is 1 man in the UK with a pair to say what he thinks ????????

Or with the shamelessness to say whatever it takes no matter how baseless to realize his ambitions.

[iroc4life]

At least he is standing to his convictions and beliefs. Not like some who for example `you have to get used to attacks when you live in a big city' ????

[KiChakayan]

11 minutes ago, iroc4life said:

At least there is 1 man in the UK with a pair to say what he thinks ????????

Well, I am old and wise enough to have learnt that guys "with a pair" lack other more sophisticated attributes..

[iroc4life]

2 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

Well, I am old and wise enough to have learnt that guys "with a pair" lack other more sophisticated attributes..

You mean like Churchill? He had a pair while others did not, He got results

[bristolboy]

11 minutes ago, iroc4life said:

At least he is standing to his convictions and beliefs. Not like some who for example `you have to get used to attacks when you live in a big city' ????

Given his history, it's more likely he's pandering to the convictions and beliefs of you and your fellow travelers.

[Guest]

England and possibly Wales should just pack their packs and leave United Kingdom. Then the smaller UK could revoke the Article 50. That way this whole process, which will eventually dissolve UK, would happen much faster and we all could continue our lives. On the path we are now, these changes will take up to 10 years.

 

 

[iroc4life]

Yeah, to make things easy and not hurt any feelings, UK should dissolve Parliament and the Queen should give the Key to the Kingdom to the Bureaucrats of Europe so the people of the UK can bow to their new masters faster.....

[Enoon]

28 minutes ago, iroc4life said:

You mean like Churchill? He had a pair while others did not, He got results

 

And hopefully he would get them today:

 

"The two governments declare that France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations, but one Franco-British Union… Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain; every British subject will become a citizen of France."

                                                                                                                   W.Churchill, Declaration of Union, 1940

 

‘Hard as it is to say now.. I look forward to a United States of Europe, in which the barriers between the nations will be greatly minimised and unrestricted travel will be possible.’

                                                                                                      W.Churchill, Letter to A.Eden, 1942.

 

"We must build a kind of United States of Europe.......... The first step in the re-creation of the

European family must be a partnership between France and Germany.........There can be no revival of Europe

without a spiritually great France and a spiritually great Germany."

                                                                                               W.Churchill, Speech at the university of Zurich, 1946

 

 

 

 

 

[iroc4life]

2 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

And hopefully he would get them today:

 

"The two governments declare that France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations, but one Franco-British Union… Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain; every British subject will become a citizen of France."

                                                                                                                   W.Churchill, Declaration of Union, 1940

 

"We must build a kind of United States of Europe.......... The first step in the re-creation of the

European family must be a partnership between France and Germany.........There can be no revival of Europe

without a spiritually great France and a spiritually great Germany."

                                                                                               W.Churchill, Speech at the university of Zurich, 1946

 

 

 

 

 

"spiritually great France and a spiritually great Germany" My how times have changed ????

[bristolboy]

1 minute ago, iroc4life said:

"spiritually great France and a spiritually great Germany" My how times have changed ????

As opposed to a spiritually great UK as epitomized by Teresa May or Boris Johnson?

[brucec64]

Newsflash Boris. Canada has hard border checks with the EU. Why would you think the EU will leave a massive open backdoor to the EU? This so called technological solution does not exist. Even the Sweden Norway border has checks, even though they are set back from the border, and they are in the process of putting cameras at each major and minor border crossing because of the smuggling problems caused by differing tax structures, not tariffs.

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[damascase]

Even a Canada supersupersuperplus deal would still be a free trade agreement, within which ‘zero tariffs, zero quota’ would be limited to goods ‘originating’ (according to rather strict and complicated definitions that differ from product to product) in the UK or the EU. These definitions - Rules of Origin - differ from Agreement to Agreement and play a crucial role in the impact of the agreement on trade. Not something you set up, negotiate and agree to within a couple of months. These often take several years. Unless, of course, the UK is willing to accept what the EU offers in this respect, that will save a lot of time. Oh wait............

And you would still have a hard border between UK and EU, with import/export declarations, origin declarations and -checks, etc.

And as for any EU ‘bullying’: what can you expect if an absolutely clueless UK government sits across the negotiation table from the well-prepared EU negotiator? Somebody has to give directions.........

[Retiredandhappyhere]

10 hours ago, whatsupdoc said:

The same old tired rhetoric again.....

The UK voted to leave, not the EU. And the UK can leave (with no deal) and the EU would respect that choice. But if you want something from the EU, like any kind of trade deal, you have to respect the rules of the EU. 

The "bullying" by the EU only exists in the minds of Brexiteers.

As I understand them, the "rules" of the EU under article 50 do not demand a divorce agreement totalling billions of euros, but they want some 60 billion from the UK as part of any deal.  So, no deal, no payment!

[damascase]

23 minutes ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

As I understand them, the "rules" of the EU under article 50 do not demand a divorce agreement totalling billions of euros, but they want some 60 billion from the UK as part of any deal.  So, no deal, no payment!

Rather ‘no payment, no deal’ I think. The payment is simply about the budgetary obligations that the UK committed to/signed up for. If you want any ‘greatness’ back, would you want to start with non-fulfillment of your obligations?

[dunroaming]

True enough a Canada style deal would leave the UK with a hard border with Ireland.  That has just been confirmed in the House of Commons where parliament is attending an emergency meeting.  Sad that Johnson missed that point but what do you expect from an imbecile like him.

 

Also May has said that the transition period may go to December 2021, considerably longer than the January as was stated before.

 

Apart from that the Prime Minister is answering the same old questions and giving the same old answers.  Johnson is in the chamber but as usual won't go toe to toe with May, gutless as always.

[welovesundaysatspace]

2 hours ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

they want some 60 billion from the UK as part of any deal.

The 39 billion are not part of any deal. It’s outstanding obligations the UK has, deal or no deal. When you sign up for a 12-months gym contract but leave after 6 months because you want to find a better gym, you’d still be obliged to pay the outstanding 6 months regardless of any future relationship with that gym. You wouldn’t tell them “oh, wait, there’s 6 months payments you want from me, so you give me another 12 months free access or I won’t pay you.” And I’m sure the last thing the U.K. needs now on top of the Brexit mess is a lawsuit from the EU. 

[baboon]

9 hours ago, iroc4life said:

You mean like Churchill? He had a pair while others did not, He got results

'We will fight them 50 feet underground in a re-enforced concrete bunker'.

 

Johnson is not in the trenches with the rest of us. He will do just fine no matter what happens. Beware those who are prepared to fight to the last drop of other people's blood...

[buggerlugs]

9 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

And hopefully he would get them today:

 

"The two governments declare that France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations, but one Franco-British Union… Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain; every British subject will become a citizen of France."

                                                                                                                   W.Churchill, Declaration of Union, 1940

 

‘Hard as it is to say now.. I look forward to a United States of Europe, in which the barriers between the nations will be greatly minimised and unrestricted travel will be possible.’

                                                                                                      W.Churchill, Letter to A.Eden, 1942.

 

"We must build a kind of United States of Europe.......... The first step in the re-creation of the

European family must be a partnership between France and Germany.........There can be no revival of Europe

without a spiritually great France and a spiritually great Germany."

                                                                                               W.Churchill, Speech at the university of Zurich, 1946

 

 

 

 

 

Possibly the views that got him voted out of office in July 1945. The returning soldiers had had enough of a spiritually great Germany and France. (I did not vote leave by the way)