- Brexit Secretary gave latest glimpse into UK’s negotiation demands
- Said Britain wanted to get tariff-free access to EU single market
- Cabinet agreed yesterday that immigration controls would be a red line
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David Davis has given another glimpse of the government’s strategy in the looming Brexit negotiation, calling for tariff-free access to the EU single market. The intervention, during a visit to Northern Ireland today, comes after the Cabinet agreed yesterday that securing controls on immigration will be a red line in the talks. But the EU has also signalled its intention to drive a hard bargain – with European Council president Donald Tusk pledging to defend the ‘interests’ of the Brussels club.
David Davis, pictured left in Northern Ireland today, has said the UK wants tariff free access to the EU single market
Theresa May joined Chancellor Philip Hammond on a trip to the West Midlands earlier, again saying she was determined to exploit the ‘opportunities’ that Brexit presents. Stressing that the UK remained ‘open for business’ as new figures showed manfacturing bouncing back strongly after a dip in the immediate aftermath of the historic referendum, the Prime Minister said: ‘This country has always been one of the greatest trading nations, and as we leave the European Union we will have the opportunity to embrace new markets and opportunities as we export British innovation and expertise to the world.’
Yesterday Mrs May gathered her Cabinet at Chequers for a detailed discussion about the government’s approach to Brexit. The ministers made clear that ‘controls on immigration’ – regarded as one of the key factors in the vote to leave the EU – would be a ‘must’ in the talks.
But they also underlined the tensions at the heart of the negotiations by highlighting the importance of retaining access to EU markets for business. EU leaders have repeatedly argued that the UK would have to accept the principle of free movement of labour in order to stay within the single market. Speaking in Belfast, where he was meeting Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein, Mr Davis said: ‘What we will seek to do is ideally to have a tariff-free access, but this is a matter of negotiation, and we will be negotiating over an issue which I suspect we will find is in the interest of the other members of the EU as well as us, to get a good trading relationship in the long run.’
The Brexit Secretary gave the latest glimpse of the government’s approach to the looming negotiations with the EU
Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond visited the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Solihull today, where she reiterated that Britain remained ‘open for business’
However, Mr Tusk reiterated that there will be no substantive negotiations until Article 50 – the formal mechanism for cutting ties with Brussels – is triggered.
He stressed that the process would be operated in the ‘interests’ of the continuing EU states, rather that for the UK’s benefit.
‘Our principle of no notification, no negotiations is there to protect those who stay together, not the one leaving. We shall not give it up,’ Mr Tusk said. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson insisted the UK will remain a ‘dedicated European power’ even after it leaves the EU.
Mr Johnson told reporters at a gathering of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Potsdam that Brexit would not cut Britain off from the continent.
‘Broadly conceived, we are a European country, we’re a dedicated European power,’ said Mr Johnson.
‘We are going to remained integrally involved in the diplomacy and politics of our continent.’
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has also been out and about, attending a meeting of European foreign ministers in Germany
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