The day after the UK government published its negotiating documents for the future relationship with the EU and sent a critical letter from negotiator David Frost to EU negotiator Michel Barnier, the latter chose to respond on Wednesday 20 May and deliver his vision (see EUROPE 12490/24).
In his letter (https://bit.ly/3g9wMv1 ), he is already of the opinion that the epistolary relationship is not the best way to address the substantive issues of the future agreement and "I would not want the tone you have used to influence the mutual trust and constructive attitude that are essential between us".
Michel Barnier would like to recall three things: "In October 2019, the EU adopted a political declaration with Prime Minister Johnson which sets the framework for our future relationship, with an agreed balance of what we had set ourselves as a goal. This is the only precedent the EU is following. We have remained faithful to the Political Declaration in the legal text we have proposed to the United Kingdom".
He went on to point out that London cannot automatically benefit from what other third countries have received, as each agreement is individual and very different.
"Each agreement that the EU has concluded is unique, with its own balance of rights and obligations tailored to the partner and the time at which it is concluded. There is no model, no uniform precedent to follow in EU trade policy."
Furthermore, given its geographical proximity, London cannot "expect quality access to the EU single market unless it is prepared to accept guarantees that competition will remain open and fair".
Finally, Michel Barnier reminds London that continuous access to EU police databases such as the Schengen databases has never been offered to any other third country outside Schengen; the United Kingdom cannot therefore claim it without accepting the obligations of the Schengen states. The two blocks will meet again on 1 June.
Northern Ireland: London details the protocol
Irrespective of these tensions, on 20 May the United Kingdom published its strategy on how it will implement the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is an integral part of the withdrawal agreement that entered into force on 1 February.
As a reminder, the protocol agreed by both parties creates a specific regime and a single customs territory on the island of Ireland while allowing Northern Ireland to continue to benefit from the free trade agreements concluded by London with other third countries.
The British authorities will therefore have to carry out regulatory or health checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland. Depending on whether their destination is the Single Market (the Republic of Ireland) or the United Kingdom alone, they will have to apply a different customs code: the Union code for goods destined for the Single Market, the UK code for the rest. Regulatory controls would comply with EU rules.
The two parties had thus agreed that there would be controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
London points out in its paper that Northern Ireland businesses will have unrestricted access to the rest of the UK market, that there will be no tariffs on goods remaining in UK customs territory and no new customs infrastructure.
The UK document acknowledges that there will be some "additional" procedures on goods arriving in Northern Ireland, but that "no physical infrastructure" will be created and that these controls will be as flexible and invisible as possible.
On the other hand, goods coming from Northern Ireland to Great Britain will have no procedures, tariffs or controls to follow, except in a few areas of common interest with the EU, for example, endangered species.
The Commission welcomed the publication of this document, which should enable both parties to have everything in place by 1January 2021. It will now examine it in detail. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)