EU steps up 'no-deal' Brexit planning in face of UK's resolve

Britain refuses to revoke ultimatum on breaking divorce treaty it inked in January

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier leaving the Westminster Conference Centre for the next round of Brexit talks in London on Thursday.
The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier leaving the Westminster Conference Centre for the next round of Brexit talks in London on Thursday. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON/BRUSSELS • The European Union stepped up planning for a "no-deal" Brexit yesterday after the British government refused to revoke an ultimatum on breaking the divorce treaty that Brussels says will sink four years of talks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said explicitly this week that it plans to break international law by breaching parts of the withdrawal agreement treaty that it signed in January, when it formally left the bloc.

Britain says the move is aimed at clarifying ambiguities, but it caused a new crisis in talks less than four months before the United Kingdom is due to complete its departure from the EU's orbit when a transition period ends in December.

The EU has demanded that Britain scrap the plan to breach the divorce treaty by the end of this month. Britain has refused, saying its Parliament is sovereign, and above international law.

"As the United Kingdom looks to what kind of future trade relationship it wants with the European Union, a prerequisite for that is honouring agreements that are already in place," said Mr Paschal Donohoe, chairman of euro zone finance ministers. "It is imperative that the government of the United Kingdom respond back to the call from the (European) Commission."

The EU yesterday said it will consider its next steps with Britain after the end-September deadline it has set for London to scrap a plan to breach the terms of its withdrawal agreement.

"We have set a deadline for the UK and therefore... we are going to take this step by step," European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer told a news briefing.

The EU's chief negotiator, Mr Michel Barnier, had said on Thursday, after trade talks in London, that the bloc was increasing its planning for a no-deal Brexit at the end of this year, adding: "The UK has not engaged in a reciprocal way on fundamental EU principles and interests."

Meanwhile, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic urged Britain to scrap the main elements of new legislation put forward this week that would override parts of the withdrawal agreement. But Britain said its Parliament would debate the Bill on Monday.

The Bill is expected to face opposition in both Houses of Parliament as many senior British politicians have expressed shock that London is explicitly planning to breach international law.

"The government will have to think again," said Mr Norman Lamont, a Brexit-supporting member of the House of Lords, the Upper Chamber, who was finance minister when the pound crashed out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.

"I don't think this will get through the Lords, in its present form," Mr Lamont said. "It is impossible to defend. They'll have to think again."

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 12, 2020, with the headline EU steps up 'no-deal' Brexit planning in face of UK's resolve. Subscribe