The Prime Minister’s European Union adviser has said he will reveal a draft free trade deal before next week’s round of negotiations with Brussels.
The government has responded to the EU calling on the UK to “make up its mind” by revealing plans to publish a draft post-Brexit trade deal within nine days.
David Frost, the PM’s chief EU adviser who is leading the negotiation efforts from the British side, on Monday said he would unveil a draft free trade deal before next week’s next round of talks with Brussels.
This among other “legal texts” would be tabled in advance of the negotiations in London between the 18th and 20th of March 2020, Mr Frost confirmed on Twitter.
His comments followed after the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called on Britain to decide on its approach to the talks, following last weeks first round of negotiations.
She told reporters in Brussels: “We are aware that there are differences in the approach towards what scope should the future agreement have and what are – if I may say so – the rules of the game everybody has to abide to.
“So it will be important that the UK makes up its mind – the closer they want to have access to the single market, the more they have to play by the rules that are the rules of the single market.
“If this is not the UK’s choice then of course they will be more distant and it will be more difficult for the UK to access the single market.
“So I think it’s up to the UK within the negotiations to think about the trade-offs they want to take into account.”
Downing Street did not take kindly to Ms von der Leyen’s comments with the PM’s official spokesman saying: “The UK has made up its mind very decisively and has been very clear about what it wants from its future relationship with the EU.”
Prime Minister Johnson has said on various occasions he is seeking a relationship with the EU similar to Canada, however, Brussels has rejected the chances of the happening claiming Britain’s close proximity to the bloc means the nations must be treated differently from Canada.
The United Kingdom formally left the European Union on the 31st of January 2020, however, has since entered an 11-month transition period until the end of the year in which it maintains the status quo of membership of the bloc.
The PM has vowed the transition period will not be extended despite critics claiming the timeframe is not long enough for both sides to reach an agreement.
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