Barnier: “Ratify May’s Surrender Treaty first, then we’ll negotiate”
Hardline EU Chief Negotiator doubles down on EU subjugation of the UK
Credits: Parliament TV / EU Commission
We debunk some of the bizarre Project Fear in Monsieur Barnier’s article today
In today’s Sunday Telegraph, Michel Barnier, the EU’s Chief Brexit Negotiator, has written an article. Here we quote from it and analyse its contents. We recommend that readers pop out and buy a copy of the paper where they can read the article in full, or subscribe in order to read it online.
The title the Telegraph’s sub-editors have given to the article is “We will only start work on alternative arrangements if the current deal is ratified”. That seems to us to be a fair summary, but here we also look at some of the other things he wrote.
Barnier’s odd questions expose the absurdity of the EU’s position
Monsieur Barnier starts with some very odd questions, presumably designed to indicate his and the EU’s priorities – and those likely to appeal to those who took to the streets in some UK cities yesterday.
Incidentally, even the BBC website is reporting only “thousands” in its reports, saying that the numbers were well down on the marches taking place back in March.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
Here are Michel Barnier’s major concerns, expressed in his article today
1. Ensuring continuation of citizens’ rights
Answer: Simple. It’s already been done unilaterally by the UK Government and by most EU27 Governments. For any 'deal;, the details in the Withdrawal Agreement need to be changed. The new details should be based on what most people would consider normal, fair, and reasonable.
2. What happens to researchers or organisations in the UK that receive EU funding?
Answer: Simple. “The government has committed to guarantee funding for all successful competitive UK bids to Horizon 2020 that are submitted before we leave the EU, if there’s a no-deal Brexit.” And “Both the guarantee and extension commit funding to UK Horizon 2020 participants for the lifetime of projects.” [ Source : ‘Horizon 2020 funding after Brexit’, 09 August, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and UK Research and Innovation.]
3. What should we do after Brexit with the extradition of criminals that began under EU law?
Answer: Simple. Continue as planned, for all existing cases. Then negotiate a sensible UK-EU deal, just as the UK has done with other nations.
4. How should we make sure that Cypriots living in the UK Sovereign Base Areas continue to enjoy their rights under EU law?
Answer: Er… sorry? These military bases are British Overseas Territories, formed when the UK granted independence to Cyprus in 1960, long before the UK’s EU membership started. The treaty of independence was signed by the UK, Greece, Turkey, and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
As for Cypriots living on the bases, they number less than 8,000. Whilst some work on the land, the UK Government has provided a regular and significant source of employment for the local community a long time before the EU was thought of. Furthermore, the UK Government has already said it sees no change necessary.
What does Monsieur Barnier say about the backstop?
Michel Barnier talks in his article about “the need to guarantee the integrity of the EU’s Single Market, while keeping that border fully open. In this sense, the backstop is the maximum amount of flexibility that the EU can offer to a non-Member State.”
The above statement would seem to put him in direct opposition to the de facto leader of the EU, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has now expressed a more flexible attitude.
This is political for you, Mr Barnier, not economic
Mr Barnier immediately goes on to ask “Why? Because the backstop provides Northern Ireland with the economic benefits of the Single Market for goods, which the EU is exceptionally willing to offer due to the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland.”
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
N.I. trade and the EU
- Just 4.9% of N.I. sales go across the border into the Republic
- Only 0.15% of all imports into the EU come from N.I.
- This hardly threatens the integrity of the Single Market
Does Mr Barnier know how small this issue is? Only 4.9% of Northern Ireland’s total sales cross the border into the Republic of Ireland. [Source: official NISRA data, extracted Dec 2018]
And when it comes to “the integrity of the Single Market” needing to be preserved, does he know how tiny the issue is? Only 0.15% of all imports into the EU come from Northern Ireland. [Source: Combined research from Eurostat, HMRC and NISRA, 2018]
Observations
Monsieur Barnier's article in the Sunday Telegraph is political. It was written by him at a very interesting time – just prior to the latest moves to stop Brexit in the Commons on Tuesday.
A cynical reader might think that he had been put up to this. Given the number of anti-democratic MPs who have been visiting and holding talks with EU figures in recent days and weeks, the list of suspects might be a little too long to list.
The simple fact is that when the EU were unable to destroy the United Kingom by separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, they forced Theresa May to accept the Customs Union and Single Market for the whole of the UK, in their “Withdrawal Agreement”.
It is worth remembering that in that agreement Northern Ireland is relegated to the status of UK(NI).
Shameful
It remains our opinion that the EU were determined to punish the UK by creating and inflating an issue which might have led to the departure of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom. Naturally this also suited the nationalist government of Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney in the Republic.
We consider it reprehensible that the EU chose to use Northern Ireland as a political football. The peace there was a long and tortuous process. To threaten it in the way they have is a measure of the nature of the EU beast.
Finally, it is worth remembering that Monsieur Barnier’s reputation rests with this deal or no deal. In the final sentences of his Sunday Telegraph article he hopes that the British people will put the blame for a non-agreement onto the British Government. Good luck with that Michel. The facts tell a different story.
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[ Sources: Sunday Telegraph | NISRA | UK Government departments | HMRC | Eurostat ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, 01 Sep 2019
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