The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michael Barnier, has said that the EU27 wants to reach a deal with the UK on its "orderly withdrawal" that prepares "the way for a new partnership" and free trade agreement (FTA).

In a speech to a plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions, Barnier said: "Brexit will have significant human, economic, financial, legal, and political consequences. But the consequences of a no deal situation would be even more significant – for everyone."

He explained: "The United Kingdom would be seriously affected by such a situation: two thirds of its trade is currently enabled – and protected – by the Single Market and the free trade agreements of the European Union with more than 60 partner countries. The Union, our Union, will also be affected, even if we continue to benefit from the Single Market [as] 27 and from our free trade agreements."

"The no-deal scenario is not our scenario. We want a deal. We want to succeed by reaching a deal."

Barnier emphasized that the new partnership with the UK will have at its center a free trade agreement, "which we will negotiate with the United Kingdom in due course."

However, he added that this FTA "cannot be equivalent to what exists today."

"The United Kingdom chooses to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union. It will be a third country in two years from now. By making this choice, the United Kingdom will naturally find itself in a less favorable situation than that of a member state. It will not be possible to cherry-pick and be a participant in parts of the Single Market," he said.

Source: Tax News
 

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