EU chief executive: no post-Brexit deal without 'level playing field'

[webfact]

EU chief executive: no post-Brexit deal without 'level playing field'

By Gabriela Baczynska and Robin Emmott

 

FILE PHOTO: The President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen holds a news conference on the European Union response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis at the EU headquarters in Brussels, April 15, 2020. John Thys/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's chief executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday that the bloc will do its best to seal an agreement on new ties with Britain by the end of the year but will not compromise its core values, notably on fair competition.

 

Britain left the EU, the world's largest trading bloc, on Jan. 31 after 47 years of membership, to the huge regret of the EU, and there has been little progress on designing a new relationship with a year-end deadline looming.

 

"The negotiations with the UK always promised to be difficult and they have not disappointed," von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, told the European Parliament.

 

"We are now halfway through these negotiations with five months left to go. But we're definitely not halfway through the work to reach an agreement ... We will do all in our power to reach an agreement."

 

She said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had confirmed to her this week that London would not seek to prolong negotiations on a new EU-UK trade deal beyond December.

 

The EU says Britain cannot retain all the economic and trading benefits it had as an EU member, while London says Brussels is not showing enough flexibility.

 

"We're ready to be creative to find common ground," von der Leyen said.

 

But she went on to say said there could be no deal without "level playing field" guarantees of fair competition, and agreements on fisheries and on dispute-settling mechanisms.

 

"ADVANCE TOGETHER"

The EU insists that Britain must commit to maintaining EU standards on everything from state aid to labour to environment regulations to prevent it undercutting EU products in the future.

 

"It should be a shared interest for the European Union and the UK to never slide backwards and always advance together towards highest standards," von der Leyen said.

 

She also said Britain must offer legal guarantees that it would handle sensitive data on EU citizens correctly if it wanted access to the bloc's databases or close judicial and police cooperation.

 

Any deal sealed between the 27 EU states and Britain will eventually need ratification by the European Parliament. Some lawmakers called for preparations in case the talks fail.

 

"It's going to be difficult. It's possible but the time is very short," the bloc's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told the same hearing.

 

"It's the choice of the UK whether they want an agreement, or not, because the conditions for an agreement are already known."

 

Barnier said EU-UK talks will intensify through July, August and September, and called for a deal to cover not only trade but also security, environmental standards and welfare rights:

 

"Our priority is and remains to be to reach an agreement. But we also have the responsibility to prepare for all possible scenarios, whether there is an agreement or there isn't."

 

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Robin Emmott; Editing by Edmund Blair)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-18

 

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[smedly]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

But she went on to say said there could be no deal without "level playing field" guarantees of fair competition, and agreements on fisheries and on dispute-settling mechanisms.

in other words you can leave but we own you and your fishing waters

 

never heard anything so ridiculous 

[Phuketshrew]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen

And who exactly elected this woman to head Europe ?

[smedly]

3 minutes ago, Phuketshrew said:

And who exactly elected this woman to head Europe ?

she was elected by MEP's - they got a voting paper with only one choice on it

 

This EU thing is just wrong on so many levels 

 

we will buy your produce just as we always have - it is called trading, if people in the UK don't want to buy your produce then tough, that is called free trading 

[Rookiescot]

So the other member states are not capitulating to the UK's demands?

How unreasonable of them.

Still no-one could have seen this coming could they?

Oh wait. About 48% of us did.

[Rookiescot]

17 minutes ago, Phuketshrew said:

And who exactly elected this woman to head Europe ?

The Queen is the head of the UK.

Who voted for her?

Who voted for all he members of the house of Lords?

Who voted for Dominic Cummings to run Downing Street?

[OneMoreFarang]

no post-Brexit deal without 'level playing field'

 

What a surprise. Now could anybody have foreseen this? The Brexiters must be shocked about this sudden and unexpected development. But then again they know the EU is bad to the core. And now suddenly the EU has this totally unreasonable demand. Why does the EU not do what Great Britain wants? Do it, now, we demand it!

 

[welovesundaysatspace]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

in other words you can leave but we own you and your fishing waters

 

never heard anything so ridiculous 

 

 

You can also leave and keep your fishing waters. You are free; you can decline any offers from anyone as you like.
 

You can fish all the fish you like, and sell it to whomever you like. And maybe the 0.1% GDP will eventually be 0.2% GDP. If you find a buyer for all that fish, of course, and a new buyer for the 70% sales you are losing. Geniuses! 
 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by welovesundaysatspace

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

in other words you can leave but we own you and your fishing waters

 

never heard anything so ridiculous 

 

Yep. And you can't make decision about your important industries. But France and Germany can and do flaunt the rules when they fancy.

 

They appear to be crapping themselves at the thought of real competition.

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

The Queen is the head of the UK.

Who voted for her?

Who voted for all he members of the house of Lords?

Who voted for Dominic Cummings to run Downing Street?

 

All true. But the EU even ignored it's own selection criteria and rules when appointing the dubious Ursula to the throne!

[JonnyF]

Are they still banging on about a level playing field? ????

 

It really hasn't sunk in yet, has it Ursula. We're leaving. We don't want all the "benefits" of being in the EU thanks, that's why we voted to leave.

 

If you want to continue selling all your stuff to us, you're welcome to a trade deal. If not, expect British consumers to start buying from countries that do want to trade with us. Oh yeah, and you can forget about fishing in our waters as well unless there's a deal. That's going to cause you massive issues from the fishing industry in your member states. 

 

Your choice is trade deal or No Deal. Time to decide whether you want to cut off your nose to spite your face as you attempt to fill the Brexit funding hole in the middle of COVID19. 

 

I'm guessing Germany will want to continue selling us their cars to cover some of those extra EU contributions though.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/491869-germany-eu-contributions-surge/

 

 

 

[Rookiescot]

6 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Are they still banging on about a level playing field? ????

 

It really hasn't sunk in yet, has it Ursula. We're leaving. We don't want all the "benefits" of being in the EU thanks, that's why we voted to leave.

 

If you want to continue selling all your stuff to us, you're welcome to a trade deal. If not, expect British consumers to start buying from countries that do want to trade with us. Oh yeah, and you can forget about fishing in our waters as well unless there's a deal. That's going to cause you massive issues from the fishing industry in your member states. 

 

Your choice is trade deal or No Deal. Time to decide whether you want to cut off your nose to spite your face as you attempt to fill the Brexit funding hole in the middle of COVID19. 

 

I'm guessing Germany will want to continue selling us their cars to cover some of those extra EU contributions though.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/491869-germany-eu-contributions-surge/

 

 

 

Germany will still be able to sell their cars to UK customers. They will just be more expensive for the people buying them.

[JonnyF]

14 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Germany will still be able to sell their cars to UK customers. They will just be more expensive for the people buying them.

Yes, they will still be able to sell them at increased prices.

 

Because we all know that an overpriced BMW/Benz is going to the first priority for your average Brit post COVID19 don't we ????.

 

I can see the advertising slogans now. "Post COVID19 special. Get to the job you no longer have in style. Was 30,000 pounds, now only 35,000 pounds." 

 

They'll sell like hotcakes.

[Rookiescot]

7 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Yes, they will still be able to sell them at increased prices.

 

Because we all know that an overpriced BMW/Benz is going to the first priority for your average Brit post COVID19 don't we ????.

 

I can see the advertising slogans now. "Post COVID19 special. Get to the job you no longer have in style. Was 30,000 pounds, now only 35,000 pounds." 

 

They'll sell like hotcakes.

And most cars produced in the UK are for export.

What do you think is going to happen there?

[twocatsmac]

17 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Yes, they will still be able to sell them at increased prices.

 

Because we all know that an overpriced BMW/Benz is going to the first priority for your average Brit post COVID19 don't we ????.

 

I can see the advertising slogans now. "Post COVID19 special. Get to the job you no longer have in style. Was 30,000 pounds, now only 35,000 pounds." 

 

They'll sell like hotcakes.

The lack of fleet sales in the uk will cut profits to zero, we bought as many fleet cars as the Germans did, almost 20%.

As you say overpriced, unreliable and sold with false mpg figures.

Edited June 18, 2020 by twocatsmac

[JonnyF]

8 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

And most cars produced in the UK are for export.

What do you think is going to happen there?

1. The EU exports far more cars to the UK than the other way around (800,000 vs 2.3 million in 2017). Much the same with parts (4 Billion vs 11 Billion).

2. The UK will be free to make new trade deals all around the world to make up the shortfall, unlike the tired old EU which will have no additional trade deals. 

 

Both will lose out though, no question. Which is why the EU would be wise to sign a fair trade deal as the UK has requested.

 

They should forget the level playing field, it's not happening.

[DoctorG]

Boris is eager to get tim tams from Australia, and who can blame him?

????

[ukrules]

24 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

And most cars produced in the UK are for export.

What do you think is going to happen there?

I don't know so much about the UK car manufacturing industry but there's a company called Nissan who seem to know something we don't.

 

 

[Loiner]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

But she went on to say said there could be no deal without "level playing field" guarantees of fair competition, and agreements on fisheries and on dispute-settling mechanisms.

 

"ADVANCE TOGETHER"

The EU insists that Britain must commit to maintaining EU standards on everything from state aid to labour to environment regulations to prevent it undercutting EU products in the future.

There never was and never would be a "level playing field" when dealing with the EU. We would turn up in sleet and a howling gale to find a lopsided muddy pitch with a stream that runs right into our goal. The term "level playing field" was a recent EU introduction, evoking the idea of English fair play, but is in fact another hidden BRINO.

 

The second paragraph about banning UK state aid and preventing it undercutting the EU is what their terms are all about. Their idea of a deal would be to use their courts to enforce their laws on this too. They still haven't realised that is why we left.

[Krataiboy]

5 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

So the other member states are not capitulating to the UK's demands?

How unreasonable of them.

Still no-one could have seen this coming could they?

Oh wait. About 48% of us did.

The brotherhood of the white flag. Thank heaven for Britain you lost.

[smedly]

1 hour ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

 

You can also leave and keep your fishing waters. You are free; you can decline any offers from anyone as you like.
 

You can fish all the fish you like, and sell it to whomever you like. And maybe the 0.1% GDP will eventually be 0.2% GDP. If you find a buyer for all that fish, of course, and a new buyer for the 70% sales you are losing. Geniuses! 
 

 

 

you know what is genius - having control of our own waters and deciding who what and where others can fish 

 

The EU wants us to legally sign away all our rights to our own waters, seriously dude if you think that is smart then you are lacking something

[JonnyF]

5 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

So the other member states are not capitulating to the UK's demands?

How unreasonable of them.

Still no-one could have seen this coming could they?

Oh wait. About 48% of us did.

Actually less than 35% of registered UK voters voted to Remain in the corrupt little club.

 

[smedly]

5 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

So the other member states are not capitulating to the UK's demands?

what demands ?

 

we want to trade, it is the EU that is demanding not the UK

 

you know the biggest joke of all - Scotland 

 

Trade with the EU 17%

Trade with the rest of the world 23%

Trade with the rest of the UK 70%

 

How about the rest of the UK demanding your waters and ultimate control of Scotland trade and laws if you leave the UK - that is just as ridiculous, almost as ridiculous as Scotland wanting to leave the UK

[vogie]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

Actually less than 35% of registered UK voters voted to Remain in the corrupt little club.

 

Brilliant, I saw what you did there.????

[samran]

24 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Boris is eager to get tim tams from Australia, and who can blame him?

????

I certainly can’t.
 

Giving up free and unfettered access to a market of 400m people and 20 trillion in GDP for some tim tams. We’ll even throw in the Vegemite for nothing!  
 

While Boris huffs and puffs about fishing rights, the welsh farmers are frozen like deers in headlights about the thrown under that green and gold lorry filled with more efficiently grown Australian beef and lamb.  
 

Bring. It. On! 

[damascase]

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

All true. But the EU even ignored it's own selection criteria and rules when appointing the dubious Ursula to the throne!

The UK didn’t even have selection criteria to ignore.........????

[dunroaming]

Truth is, time will tell, as it always does.  We can all rant and rave but Johnson, with his massive majority, can play this any way he wants to.  Did I say Johnson?  Of course I mean Dominic Cummings.

[jps9122]

But hey instead of a deal you get your "Blue" passport back ????

[welovesundaysatspace]

45 minutes ago, jps9122 said:

But hey instead of a deal you get your "Blue" passport back ????

Aaaaaaaand the 0.1% fishing waters. They really are in for the big wins now. 

[vogie]

4 minutes ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Aaaaaaaand the 0.1% fishing waters. They really are in for the big wins now. 

Is it National Sour Grapes Day or something?