Brexit impact
EU trade deal to be delayed by ‘east Europeans’
The veteran EU insider – who asked not to be named – warned that concluding a trade deal would take more than two years because east European Member States wanted to retain the right of their nationals to work in the UK.
“The east Europeans have vested interests in trade negotiations. They have a lot of people working here in the UK and they want to maintain the rights of their people to work in this country,” said the source.
‘East Europeans have vested interests’
That meant they will insist on the right of nationals to work here before agreeing to any EU trade deal with the UK.
Pressure from the east Europeans to persuade the UK government to accept migrant workers was likely to delay a trade deal because the topic was so contentious in the run up to EU Referendum, added the insider.
In contrast, north European Member States that wanted to protect their lucrative, large-scale exports to the UK, favoured concluding a trade deal with the UK as soon as possible, said the insider.
The source went on to criticise the apparently widespread misunderstanding that negotiations about Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon and forging a UK/EU trade deal were one and the same thing.
‘The conditions of the divorce’
“Article 50 negotiations are about the conditions of the divorce [between the UK and the EU]. “They are not negotiations about trade – those are two separate things.”
Brexit promises
“Brexit campaigners promised something that will be very difficult to fulfil.”
- EU insider
And for the UK to forge a trade deal with the EU, it would be “essential to have unanimity” with the European Council. Read more about Article 50 in the box below.
While stopping short of accusing the Leave campaign of making false promises during the run up to the referendum last Thursday (June 23), the source did stress that it would be very difficult for the EU to gain access to the EU’s 500M customers, while at the same time restricting the right of EU citizens to work here.
“The Brexit campaigners have promised something that will be very difficult to fulfil,” the insider concluded.
The source was a guest speaker at the PTF annual general meeting at Ironmongers’ Hall in central London.
Meanwhile, watch out for our report on why the chair of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Sir Peter Kendall, thought Brexit – if it unleashed unrestrained market forces – could have “brutal and unintended consequences”.
What is Article 50?
Article 50 of the he Lisbon Treaty sets out a five-point plan charting how a Member State may leave the EU. The agreement – signed by the heads of state and government of EU Member States – became law in December 2009.
