Brussels will not be pressurised by "artificial deadlines" in the post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and UK, France's Europe minister has warned. French European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin has hit back at the UK's threats to walk away from a trade deal with the EU if there is not "good progress". De Montchalin said the EU would not sign "any kind of a deal" at the end of the transition period in December - because substance is more important than deadlines. She said on Friday the European Union would not accept "artificial deadlines" in talks on a future relationship with Britain. "We do not accept time pressure," Montchalin told an audience at Chatham House. However she insisted it was possible to achieve a deal by the end of the year - as long as there is "consistency on the two sides." Michael Gove told MPs on Thursday the government will walk away in June unless there is a "broad outline" of a deal. Read More Related Articles Brexit red tape explosion as Tories accept we may need 50,000 new customs agents Read More Related Articles Number of people moving to the UK from non-EU countries is at highest ever level He said the UK wanted to strike a "comprehensive free trade agreement" in 10 months. But the government would not accept any alignment with EU laws as the EU is demanding, with Mr Gove adding: "We will not trade away our sovereignty." Today Ms de Montchalin explained: "We all know that if we feel the need, we have the legal capacity to extend which is why I called it artificial." The EU has already set out its priorities ahead of the formal start of the talks on Monday. And earlier this week the government published a 30-page document outlining its priorities for the talks. Read More Related Articles UK's 9 demands for a Brexit trade deal - and why they'll start a fight with the EU These include ruling out any role for the ECJ, refusing to accept any EU laws in the UK and aiming for a trading relationship with the EU similar to the ones the 27-nation bloc has with Canada, Japan and South Korea. In what is the EU's first public response to the UK's negotiating de Montchalin mocked the UK government's insistence on an Australian style deal. "You are not Canada, you are certainly not Australia - first of all because we can come to you by train, you are the United Kingdom," she said in a well-timed speech on the “future of the UK-EU and UK-France relationships” at Chatham House. She told the audience that the next phase marked a clear departure from the "political negotiations" of the withdrawal agreement but the next set of discussions are about "building a relationship". "We are not building the relationship for politicians, we are building it for companies, business, fishermen, researchers, we are building it for people, real people. It is for them," she said. Read More Related Articles 'Part-time' Boris Johnson slammed over emergency Coronavirus summit - in three days' time And she war
Top EU minister blasts Boris Johnson's 'artificial' threats over Brexit deadline
Brussels will not be pressurised by "artificial deadlines" in the post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and UK, France's Europe minister has warned. French European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin has hit back at the UK's threats to walk away from a trade deal with the EU if there is not "good progress". De Montchalin said the EU would not sign "any kind of a deal" at the end of the transition period in December - because substance is more important than deadlines. She said on Friday the European Union would not accept "artificial deadlines" in talks on a future relationship with Britain. "We do not accept time pressure," Montchalin told an audience at Chatham House. However she insisted it was possible to achieve a deal by the end of the year - as long as there is "consistency on the two sides." Michael Gove told MPs on Thursday the government will walk away in June unless there is a "broad outline" of a deal. Read More Related Articles Brexit red tape explosion as Tories accept we may need 50,000 new customs agents Read More Related Articles Number of people moving to the UK from non-EU countries is at highest ever level He said the UK wanted to strike a "comprehensive free trade agreement" in 10 months. But the government would not accept any alignment with EU laws as the EU is demanding, with Mr Gove adding: "We will not trade away our sovereignty." Today Ms de Montchalin explained: "We all know that if we feel the need, we have the legal capacity to extend which is why I called it artificial." The EU has already set out its priorities ahead of the formal start of the talks on Monday. And earlier this week the government published a 30-page document outlining its priorities for the talks. Read More Related Articles UK's 9 demands for a Brexit trade deal - and why they'll start a fight with the EU These include ruling out any role for the ECJ, refusing to accept any EU laws in the UK and aiming for a trading relationship with the EU similar to the ones the 27-nation bloc has with Canada, Japan and South Korea. In what is the EU's first public response to the UK's negotiating de Montchalin mocked the UK government's insistence on an Australian style deal. "You are not Canada, you are certainly not Australia - first of all because we can come to you by train, you are the United Kingdom," she said in a well-timed speech on the “future of the UK-EU and UK-France relationships” at Chatham House. She told the audience that the next phase marked a clear departure from the "political negotiations" of the withdrawal agreement but the next set of discussions are about "building a relationship". "We are not building the relationship for politicians, we are building it for companies, business, fishermen, researchers, we are building it for people, real people. It is for them," she said. Read More Related Articles 'Part-time' Boris Johnson slammed over emergency Coronavirus summit - in three days' time And she war
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