Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 21 Dec 2019
BORIS JOHNSON HAS sidestepped accusations from European leaders that he is on course to deliver a “harder Brexit” after his General Election win.
The UK Prime Minister appeared to set himself up for combative trade talks in the new year after ruling out adhering to Brussels’ rules after 2020 when the transition period ends.
He altered his own Brexit Bill this week to make it unlawful for the Government to extend the trade talks into 2021, giving negotiators an unprecedented 11 months to thrash out a free trade deal.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar warned that Johnson looked embarked on a “harder Brexit than we anticipated” and said he feared the UK wanted to “undercut” its European rivals on food, health and product safety after exit day.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier, in an article for the Project Syndicate website, similarly said competition on social and environmental standards between UK and the EU bloc would “lead only to a race to the bottom”.
Johnson was asked about the Taoiseach’s comments while visiting British troops in Estonia today but dodged answering the question directly.
He replied:
What everybody wants to do is put Brexit behind us on 31 January and move on, and there’s a lot of goodwill and a lot of energy now about building the new deep and special partnership, and that’s what we’re going to do.
The Conservative Party leader said there had been a “positive feeling” during his bilateral meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas in the capital Tallinn.
Should the EU and UK agree to a trade deal before the end of 2020, Estonia is one of the 27 EU countries in the bloc that will have to ratify the new terms.
Johnson also spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Downing Street said the pair discussed negotiating an “ambitious trade agreement” after Britain leaves the EU.
The PM told MPs on Friday that the “oven was on” when it came to delivering Brexit next year, but said there would be “no alignment” to EU rules during any post-exit free trade deal.
“This will be with no alignment on EU rules, but instead with control of our own laws, and close and friendly relations,” he told those on the green benches.
He made the comments after seeing his European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill passed by a 124 majority by MPs, paving the way for the UK to finalise its divorce from Brussels by the 31 January deadline.
Turning off from Brexit over the Christmas break, the PM turned his attention to other issues by making a festive trip to visit British troops stationed in the Baltic country.
He helped serve Christmas lunch to the 850 British troops from the Queen’s Royal Hussars at the Tapa military base near the capital Tallinn.
Along with personnel from Estonia, France and Denmark, they lead Nato’s operation to protect Europe’s eastern border with Russia.
He told the troops their service was “incredibly important” as it allowed people in Britain to have “Christmas in peace and security”, noting how when he was a boy Estonia was still part of the Soviet Union.
His trip comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned serving personnel to be braced for cutbacks as part of his bid to secure more long-term investment in defence.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking podcast, the Cabinet minister said the armed forces would need to “cut our cloth to match our ambition” in order to secure fresh funding for innovative technology.
Asked about the comments, the Johnson said: “We’re the second biggest player in Nato, we’re the biggest military in Europe – we believe in supporting our armed services.
Obviously we do that in an efficient way but as you know we’re increasing our budget by £2.2 billion – you know about all the investments that we’re making in our armed services. Those will continue.
Downing Street faced criticism from their own benches when Peter Bottomley, the longest-serving Tory MP, called the alleged decision to boycott BBC Radio 4’s Today programme “counterproductive”.
Ministers have not been interviewed on the morning radio show since Johnson’s election victory, and the PM’s chief aide Dominic Cummings reportedly told staff during the campaign not to listen to the flagship programme.
Bottomley, the Father of the House of Commons, told the Saturday edition of the programme: “There are mistakes governments can make, even in their first week, and I personally think that not coming on the Today programme when invited is unwise, injudicious, counterproductive and if you want to have me on every time a minister says no, I’ll come.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Two comments immediately accusing the EU of being “bullies”. It was the UK’s decision to leave the EU. If they want a trade deal with the EU, it’s going to be in the EU’s terms. That’s not bullying. That’s reality.
@Seán Ó Briain: ya fine, let the UK leave with no deal and see the Irish economy plummet. Ireland has a lot more to lose than the UK.
@Seán Ó Briain: it takes two sides to make an agreement, it’ll be on both their terms and the hope that middle ground can be found
@Mark Lee: As if all you cared about wasn’t spreading irrational fear, your comment below calling the EU ‘bullyboys’ shows your true colours.
Incase you forgot, the EU is not an omnipotent force, it is just a representation of its member states.
@Mark Lee: ROFLOL. Is reality just beginning to hit home, your on your own now!!!
@Mark Lee: It is true that Brexit with no deal will be bad for Ireland and some other EU countries who has very close trade links to UK. But so called bulling from EU is a great way to see how UK will score in any trade talks in current World trade realities. They are leaving one of the largest single markets which can actually more or less dictate own rules or at least stand it’s ground against biggest economies in the world. China and India are growing fast. Putin is trying to restart USSR 2 with its own single trade zone , South American and African countries are working on own trade unions. If Scotland will leave Great Britain , the UK will become very average economy who will struggle to negotiate better terms for them with any of the big economies.
@Mark Lee: ” let the UK leave with no deal and see the Irish economy plummet. Ireland has a lot more to lose than the UK.”
No, it doesn’t. The UK accounts for 11.4% of Ireland’s trade. The EU accounts for 46% of the UK’s trade. The UK has a lot more to lose.
@Mark Lee: the EU doesn’t have to negotiate. We’re being led to believe that there’s a two-way process here. There isn’t
@Mark Lee: sure i heard that the EU has got our back. Did i imagine this?
@Mark Lee: Ireland exports €15 billion worth of goods to the UK every year and imports €27 billion, tell me again who gets hurt more if that stops?
@Colin Barrett:
UK customers. We have 26 countries on our doorstep we can freely trade with plus any of the other world countries the eu has an existing agreement with. The uk won’t. Much easier for us to find new markets.
@Cynical: it isn’t really. It’s developing its own momentum, spurred on by certain political and financial interests. Green MEPs other day talking about how they will support removing national vetoes even more. As for the treatment we got during the financial crisis..
@Mark Lee: or, let ireland start implementing coping strategies now that we know brexit is real and it’s going to happen. Every business affected by uk markets needs to immediately start cultivating markets elsewhere. The UK has spoken. It has embarked on a path that is fraught with danger and opportunity, in unequal measure. Now is our time to stand up and be counted. We need to be strong and confident. We cannot choose the UK as an opportunity anymore. We can, will and must do it. And while our path is not without difficulty, it is immensely more advantageous than that chosen by the UK. The future starts here.
@Mark Lee: l another brainless knoblett, our biggest 2 markets by a huge margin are the EU continent and the USA. UK makes up 12%…. it’s ok though enjoy your swimming pool chicken. I’m confident we can find other markets to take that 12%.
And btw you can get fked if you think you’ll get any deal from the EU without priority lanes for our trucks in Dover.
Gone are the days when we rely on you fkin twits.
Off with ya mr nobody and don’t come back.
@Oleksandr Savitskyy: There won’t be any bullying from the EU. Pre Election the UK government was weak, post election Parliament is weak & the Government is bullet proof. The EU is dealing with a new sheriff now & one that is happy to say No & lets face it there is a lot to say no about if they are prepared to be awkward on security & intelligence. They say the intelligence & security issue is mutually beneficial but we all know that the vast majority of the input comes from The UK
@Seán Ó Briain: Show the figures without multinationals & the figures are very different. Apple in cork employs vast numbers of non Irish & those that are on a contract basis. I live in Cork & they are always talking about the number of foreigners on Red FM
@Tim Pot: Actually most of what the UK exports are transitory goods that are delivered via a UK hub. the UK exports on paper vast amounts to Belgium & Holland but in reality they are goods in Transit unless their population has ten cars each in their driveway. Post Brexit the UK will import less food and export less food with the EU. Ireland with its smaller internal market will need to create new supply lines & new export markets & means of delivery for those exports. If Ireland is to remain a right hand drive car market they will have little choice but to maintain UK supply lines & swallow the few percentage of vehicles tariffs but as the pound is considerably lower than the days of €1.55 to the Pound Irish consumers are still quids in.
Wait until till Big Phil get him around the table and tells him to register every septic tank
@pat seery: And we wont inspect them either.
More bullying tactics by the eu. Leo is worse.
@Joe Mc: Na Zdorovie
@Joe Mc: Bot alert
@Joe Mc: why is Leo worse.. In what way?????
@Kathleen O Connor: Worse, that he doesn’t get off his ass and try to get the best out of it for Ireland?
@Dom Layzell: And what does that involve exactly? Leo is standing up to the UK very well in protecting our interests.
@Colm A. Corcoran: Oh really Colm! And can you please give me examples of how he manages to do that? Perhaps you could be referring to the 15 extra millions of our money he gave to the foreign aid budget? Any other examples?
@Joe Mc: any chance to put him down what’s he worse than?
Boris wants free trade with the EU while being outside the EU, in your dreams Boris…
Mr. Johnson has every right to dictate his opening terms but so too has the EU. Eventually like all these negotiations it comes down to who needs a deal most.
@Mark Andrew Salmon: yes the 350 million bloc or the 65 million lone country…hmmmm
@SF Knee Knockers: closer to 450m ex. UK, but sure what’s another 100m people :-)
Actually this makes sense from the UK’s perspective. No point being outside the EU if they are going to follow the EU standards. Two issues: 1 the EU are not going to accept below standard (CE) goods without tariffs. So BoJo is negotiating to have access to the EU market. 2 – the UK were perfectly entitled to trade at any standard with any country up to this point. They can sell as much dodgy electronics products to China as the Chinese will buy. That is nothing to do with the EU.
@lambda sensor: They won’t be selling anything to China unless they pay buttons to their employees….they cannot compete with them on any level lol
@Peter Hughes: agreed. Indeed, on strategic level, brexit makes very little sense. Countries are rushing to join trade blocs and the UK is getting out of the biggest one? I think BoJo is a little like Trump in that he ran a campaign he didnt expect to win (the referendum). Now he has to deliver on the campaign and is turning it to his advantage wherever he can. There is no long term, deep strategy here though. They are trying to make the most of the hand they have.
@lambda sensor: he he he he
@Peter Hughes: for the lols, why don’t you check out UK workers rights with the EU average… Try minimum wage, paid holidays, maternity benefits. Ask yourself why there is still huge EU migration into the UK. If Johnson tries to turn Britain into a low rent Singapore the votes he got from working class constituencies recently won’t be long disappearing. From an Irish point of view I’d be more concerned about the UK cutting corporation tax. They have the economy of scale to do so and maintain workers’ benefits. This silly Brit bashing masks the real issues of how Brexit will hit us.
@Valthebear: there would be no benefit for the UK lowering corporation tax. For what reason? They won’t have unfettered access to the EU market, that’s why it works for us so well.
Also a simple google will show you it’s a very difficult thing to do, to lower corporation tax drastically, something would have to make up the shortfall. It’s different here, we’ve come from a 0% corp rate and 12.5% is the highest it’s ever been.
IMO the UK either pin themselves to the EU and have Brexit in name only or they are in for one of the longest recessions they’ve ever experienced.
This will end in tears
@TM B: You could be very rich if you can prove that?
If the Uk gets a zero tarrif trade deal with the Eu as a 3rd Third Country then others will leave including Poland and Hungary. There has to be an upside to Eu membership.
@Damian Moylan: they won’t, they won’t even get as good a deal as Norway…
According to Leo and Coveney supported by Martin there was no problem.. Now reality bites home with the FFG colition.
@Donal Desmond: Leo helped create this monster by sneering at the British for the past two years. Leo is a clueless weasel just like most of his cabinet…..all supported by Meehole Martin who is the leader of our most ineffective opposition in our history
@SandraMeyler: Leo is doing exactly what Brussels tells him to do as he needs to maintain his grade average to guarantee his plum future job in the EU! He doesn’t give a toss about the Brexit outcome or the HSE nor the homeless crisis as he is cementing his future!
@SandraMeyler: Wake up, Leo had NOTHING to do with this monster.
@SandraMeyler: pure waffle, he is our leader whether you like him or not. He’s standing up for us and NI, let’s not forget about NI….. you know the region of the UK that is about to become essentially an economic zone part of the EU but closer linked to the Republic.
I’m not his biggest fan either but on Brexit he’s got it spot on.
@Diarmaid O’Riordáin: **economic zone part of the UK***
Boris thinks he’s invincible now, just wait and see the disasters he will bring from Brexit on.
@TamuMassif2019: how do you know what he thinks ?
Just leave it in the capable hands of Nancy Pelosi
@Gerry Ryan deG: Well, let’s see how Trump’s Impeachment goes! From the off, that’s gonna fail? V clever isn’t she?
@Dom Layzell: that would depend on what the outcome was intended to be. I would suggest that the dems were fully aware of what way the reps would vote in 90% of cases for impeachment.
@Dom Layzell: he has been impeached! The trial may begin in January but he won’t be found guilty. Though he will always be remembered as an impeached president. Are you a bot or troll?
@Adrian Gannon: No ,he has not been impeached, the impeachment papers have not been handed into the senate and until the are he is not impeached.
Boycott British products … buy only Irish and EU products .
@The dark raider:
Difficult without an irish weetabix… :p
@The dark raider: sure. Let’s stop importing necessary imports from the UK such as food and medicines. Would that also require uncoupling us from the UK electricity grid as well? Maybe Brussels will put up a few power lines for us? Wave that EU flag!
@Valthebear: do you mean like the €530 million they are putting up for the interconnector with France? By the way we also own the Electricty infrastructure in NI.
@Valthebear: we’re not connected to the UK grid you imbecile, we have an all Ireland grid you know because we’re a friggin Island, we’re not connected to Britain.
Boris wants an unambiguous celebration of Brexit at the end of January. After that he will want it out of the news while he quietly gets on with a sensible deal.
Good luck to you all with your albine turj
11 months for a trade deal with the EU is a diplomatic slap in the face. Its arrogant. It basically confirms the worst fears about tory plans to sell out NHS and lower worker rights as fast as possible to the benefit of the US corporations. Boris is nothing but a mouth piece for US corporate interests and the racist peoples of the UK are after handing the country to them. Let see how it turns out. Sorry for Scotland and NI.
@RobPup: except for the UK won’t have single market access so I’m not sure what benefit lowering workers rights will achieve for US corporations???? Except for the internal UK market.
Not sure you have thought your post through!!!
@Diarmaid O’Riordáin: not everything revolves around workers rights. The UK is a developed, consumer economy not India or Pakistan or China where €0.01 of a raise in worker wages makes a difference to a company’s bottomline.You can keep worker rights and even pay for a while anyway. Privatising NHS and medicines will make US corps massive profits in the UK and Boris et all will get their cut. That is what Brexit is all about.
I am sick of Brexit….. It’s going to set the peace treaty back decades, I can see the UK going into recession if this goes ahead, sterling will drop rock bottom
M
hi
my hot photos are here …
http://69chat.club
only 18+
@Anna69xxi: lol
Britain is going to Crash to it’s Knees
have your say