The Brexit View On The Chequers Meeting From Brussels by Eszter Kantor
The UK Government statement following the Chequers meeting is now published. On the plus side it is great that two years after the Brexit vote The UK Cabinet now has a common position. Unfortunately this position is not so different from previous ones.
The statement talks about future relationship while there is no agreement on the terms of the withdrawal.
It leaves many unanswered questions:
Is the UK willing to accept the terms of withdrawal as described by the EU? It also calls for free movement of goods ignoring services (including services embedded into the sales of goods, which is a huge factor in the fashion supply chain), movement of capital and people.
Creating a common customs area only for goods was previously rejected by the EU. Does the UK government have anything on offer for the EU to change its mind?
This statement is in need of some serious upgrade, unless the UK Government knows something about the EU`s position that we don`t or is considering this as a first step towards further concessions.
Read the Government's full statement here.