The British government’s Brexit process reached another milestone as the European Commission said that the U.K. and the EU had agreed at a negotiator level and in principle the draft political declaration on the future relationship between the two sides.
While observers continue to pick apart the statement — which has been leaked to U.K. media — to assess whether the government’s ambitions set out by the U.K. have been enmeshed in it, the development marks a symbolic victory for Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of a summit on Sunday. In the summit EU leaders are set to finalise and formalise details of both the exit process and outline of future relations.
The development also follows last week’s news that Britain and the EU had agreed to the draft terms of the withdrawal.
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Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday, Prime Minister May insisted the declaration was the “right deal for the U.K.” and honoured the public vote. “The British people want this to be settled... that deal is within our grasp and I am determined to deliver it.”
Unlike the withdrawal agreement, which would be binding, the political declaration is more of a statement of future ambitions of what a new relationship — including when it comes to the movement of people and goods and services — would entail.
Controversy over the terms of the withdrawal agreement led to several ministerial resignations and letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister, though an initiative to oust her through formal party processes appears to have been abandoned for now, for want of support from backbench MPs.
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Frictionless trade
The 26-page document has not been officially published though the Guardian newspaper published a leaked draft on its website. It appeared to suggest that Brexit would fail to deliver the frictionless trade with Europe that many had envisaged.
The declaration established the parameters of an “ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership”. However, in one section on checks and controls at the border, the agreement pointed to arrangements that could lead to a “spectrum of different outcomes for administrative processes as well as checks and controls, and note in this context their wish to be as ambitious as possible, while respecting the integrity of their respective markets.”
“The political declaration confirms that Britain is heading for a hard Brexit — if it can solve the Irish border problem and avoid the backstop... The language is warm but the message is brutal,” said Tom Kibasi, director of the IPPR think tank.
Years of talks
“It merely promises years of negotiations to an unknown destination,” said Anna Soubry, a Conservative MP and prominent campaigner for a second referendum.
However, the declaration appeared to live up to one point repeatedly stressed by U.K. authorities: their intention to end free movement and bring in “visa-free travel” for short-term visits only.
In a concession to pro-Brexit critics unhappy with the Northern Ireland backstop (effectively an insurance policy to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland), the declaration also notes a “determination” to replace the backstop solution with “alternative arrangements” to avoid a hard border on a permanent basis.
“The entire ‘deal’ has been driven by the fact May’s only ‘real’ red line isn’t ‘frictionless trade’, leaving customs union, Ireland/Northern Ireland — and certainly not business) economy — it’s ending free movement,” tweeted Jonathan Portes, a senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe initiative.