This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/12/eu-britain-brexit-plan-chequers-theresa-may
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Dear EU, please take Britain’s Brexit plan seriously. It may be our best offer | Dear EU, please take Britain’s Brexit plan seriously. It may be our best offer |
| (5 months later) | |
| Dear Ambassadors and High Commissioners, | Dear Ambassadors and High Commissioners, |
| I write regarding the British government’s Chequers plan, a white paper on which is published today. It’s two years since this country voted to leave the EU, and with just months remaining of article 50, I’m sure you will welcome more details on the UK’s Brexit proposals. | I write regarding the British government’s Chequers plan, a white paper on which is published today. It’s two years since this country voted to leave the EU, and with just months remaining of article 50, I’m sure you will welcome more details on the UK’s Brexit proposals. |
| All of you represent EU member states at the Court of St James’s in London. You must be spending a lot more of your time on Brexit than you would probably like to do. You might think your country didn’t choose Brexit, and that it’s a headache you could do without. But you would also recognise that the EU treaties themselves afford every member an option of leaving the union, in accordance with its constitutional requirements. That’s just what the UK has decided to do. | All of you represent EU member states at the Court of St James’s in London. You must be spending a lot more of your time on Brexit than you would probably like to do. You might think your country didn’t choose Brexit, and that it’s a headache you could do without. But you would also recognise that the EU treaties themselves afford every member an option of leaving the union, in accordance with its constitutional requirements. That’s just what the UK has decided to do. |
| Skilled diplomats, you are used to dealing with the world as it is, not as you would like to find it. And I’ve seen how you and your colleagues have turned your efforts to the challenge of finding a way through Brexit, to making sure that the UK maintains the strongest possible relations with its European neighbours, as they evolve on to a different level. | Skilled diplomats, you are used to dealing with the world as it is, not as you would like to find it. And I’ve seen how you and your colleagues have turned your efforts to the challenge of finding a way through Brexit, to making sure that the UK maintains the strongest possible relations with its European neighbours, as they evolve on to a different level. |
| For over four and a half decades, the UK has been a committed EU member, pressing for the completion of the single market and the extension of membership to countries of the former eastern bloc. Yet we always had a more detached relationship than many of our continental allies. We chose not to join the euro and the Schengen area. Frankly, we have always been more interested in a trading relationship than a political project. And liberal Euroscepticism has had a strong foothold here, on the political centre-left and centre-right, and in the press. | For over four and a half decades, the UK has been a committed EU member, pressing for the completion of the single market and the extension of membership to countries of the former eastern bloc. Yet we always had a more detached relationship than many of our continental allies. We chose not to join the euro and the Schengen area. Frankly, we have always been more interested in a trading relationship than a political project. And liberal Euroscepticism has had a strong foothold here, on the political centre-left and centre-right, and in the press. |
| Dominic Raab tells 'carping' critics of May's Brexit plan to back off | |
| Although the prime minister, Theresa May, made clear over a year ago that Britain intends to leave the EU’s single market and customs union, it has taken the government too long to come up with a more detailed plan on Brexit. Now, finally, it has. | Although the prime minister, Theresa May, made clear over a year ago that Britain intends to leave the EU’s single market and customs union, it has taken the government too long to come up with a more detailed plan on Brexit. Now, finally, it has. |
| We need a path to a balanced relationship that would work for future decades. Most European leaders agree that this will have to be a bespoke relationship, designed to suit our size and proximity, as well as the historical, economic, personal and cultural ties between the UK and EU. | We need a path to a balanced relationship that would work for future decades. Most European leaders agree that this will have to be a bespoke relationship, designed to suit our size and proximity, as well as the historical, economic, personal and cultural ties between the UK and EU. |
| So far, however, the European commission team, which negotiates on your behalf, has only offered the UK two unacceptable choices. On the one hand, Michel Barnier suggests a thin free trade agreement, which comes with the coda that the EU would indefinitely control regulations for the province of Northern Ireland alone – something that many in the UK see as an attempted “annexation”. On the other hand, there’s a relationship even closer than Norway’s, inside a customs union and single market, which would limit the UK’s ability to end free movement or control regulations across its wider economy. The latter would almost certainly prove politically unsustainable in the medium term, and – as we saw with Brexit itself – unsustainable political relationships tend to unwind in the UK. | So far, however, the European commission team, which negotiates on your behalf, has only offered the UK two unacceptable choices. On the one hand, Michel Barnier suggests a thin free trade agreement, which comes with the coda that the EU would indefinitely control regulations for the province of Northern Ireland alone – something that many in the UK see as an attempted “annexation”. On the other hand, there’s a relationship even closer than Norway’s, inside a customs union and single market, which would limit the UK’s ability to end free movement or control regulations across its wider economy. The latter would almost certainly prove politically unsustainable in the medium term, and – as we saw with Brexit itself – unsustainable political relationships tend to unwind in the UK. |
| The Chequers plan tries to put forward an innovative, bespoke option for a new partnership with the EU. Essentially, it would entail the UK aligning with EU single market rules on goods, but able to diverge on services and end free movement. The purpose would be to maintain essentially frictionless goods trade to support growth in all of our economies, and to avoid a hard border with Ireland. | The Chequers plan tries to put forward an innovative, bespoke option for a new partnership with the EU. Essentially, it would entail the UK aligning with EU single market rules on goods, but able to diverge on services and end free movement. The purpose would be to maintain essentially frictionless goods trade to support growth in all of our economies, and to avoid a hard border with Ireland. |
| Some on the EU side claim that the free movement of goods, services, people and capital is “indivisible”. But the EU has already entered relationships that divide these, and which allow partial participation in the single market – such as those with Switzerland or Ukraine. | Some on the EU side claim that the free movement of goods, services, people and capital is “indivisible”. But the EU has already entered relationships that divide these, and which allow partial participation in the single market – such as those with Switzerland or Ukraine. |
| Others claim the UK wants to have its cake and eat it. Yet the Chequers plan would leave the UK with fewer obligations but also fewer rights. We would lose the ability to set rules on goods regulation, and would lose rights on free movement of services and capital. | Others claim the UK wants to have its cake and eat it. Yet the Chequers plan would leave the UK with fewer obligations but also fewer rights. We would lose the ability to set rules on goods regulation, and would lose rights on free movement of services and capital. |
| As a (soon to be) non-member, the UK cannot expect the EU to change its fundamental order to suit us. But equally, the EU should be able to accommodate a deep partnership with Europe’s second biggest economy and major security and military power. Although the UK is just one country, in size we are equivalent to the smallest 19 EU members. It behooves all of us to find a way to work out stable relations on our continent at a time when the transatlantic security alliance itself is at risk, and when all around Europe, and within it, we face unprecedented challenges. | As a (soon to be) non-member, the UK cannot expect the EU to change its fundamental order to suit us. But equally, the EU should be able to accommodate a deep partnership with Europe’s second biggest economy and major security and military power. Although the UK is just one country, in size we are equivalent to the smallest 19 EU members. It behooves all of us to find a way to work out stable relations on our continent at a time when the transatlantic security alliance itself is at risk, and when all around Europe, and within it, we face unprecedented challenges. |
| Your capitals will be looking closely at the detail of the Chequers plan today. As you will be reporting back – given recent ministerial resignations – this is very close to the maximum compromise the UK could sustain politically. The government has moved substantially to get here. | Your capitals will be looking closely at the detail of the Chequers plan today. As you will be reporting back – given recent ministerial resignations – this is very close to the maximum compromise the UK could sustain politically. The government has moved substantially to get here. |
| I hope this proposal is taken seriously by European member states and the EU itself. I believe it should provide the basis for a future partnership. But if it’s judged insufficient, then I fear the British people will think that the UK has already made a fair and reasonable offer. They would be very wary of further compromise , and so regrettably our relations will probably end up being looser, with concomitant effects on both sides of the Channel for economic growth and security cooperation in the future. | I hope this proposal is taken seriously by European member states and the EU itself. I believe it should provide the basis for a future partnership. But if it’s judged insufficient, then I fear the British people will think that the UK has already made a fair and reasonable offer. They would be very wary of further compromise , and so regrettably our relations will probably end up being looser, with concomitant effects on both sides of the Channel for economic growth and security cooperation in the future. |
| • Henry Newman is the director of Open Europe | • Henry Newman is the director of Open Europe |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| European Union | European Union |
| Europe | Europe |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |