It was his first speech since the UK’s official exit from the European Union (EU). Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on February 3 that his country would not do anything. " unfair competition " to the EU after Brexit, as Europeans fear.
During his 30-minute speech, Mr. Johnson tried not to say the word "Brexit" – " It is not forbidden (But) it’s just over, it happened ”, he said then. He focused his speech on his vision of the future relationship of the United Kingdom with the Twenty-Seven.
"We will not compete unfairly, whether commercial, economic or environmental", said the conservative leader, pledging not to lower European standards. At the same time, he rejected any alignment with European rules as the price of a free trade agreement with Brussels: "Are we going to insist that the EU does everything like us as the price of free trade? Of course not. "
"I see no need to force us into an agreement with the EU. We will restore our full sovereignty over our borders, immigration, competition, the rules governing subsidies, supplies, data protection. "
He also believed that cooperation with Europeans in defense and foreign policy would not require "Not necessarily a treaty".
The Brussels proposals
The EU rightly warned London on Monday against any temptation to compete unfairly, and said it was ready to negotiate "A very ambitious trade agreement".
This agreement will aim in particular to eliminate all customs duties and all quotas on goods traded with the continent, a proposal never seen on the part of the EU with its partners, said the EU chief negotiator for the Brexit, Michel Barnier. He also warned that the EU would not accept the emergence of a deregulated economy on its doorstep that would benefit from“Unfair competitive advantages”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, however, warned that the UK’s level of access to the European single market would depend on its level of alignment with EU rules.
"The closer the UK wants to be (rules), the easier the access to the single market, but nothing is free (…), I think it's a matter of fairness to follow the rules ", she stressed, recalling that the political declaration, which accompanies the withdrawal treaty, was signed by Boris Johnson.
Leaving the EU on Friday evening after forty-seven years of stormy membership, the United Kingdom must now redefine the terms of its relationship with the European bloc reduced to twenty-seven, in terms of trade but also of security, fishing or education. The parties have an eleven-month transitional period for this, which London is already refusing to extend.
