Michel Barnier blocks UK plan for secret 'tunnel' talks on Brexit trade deal

Michel Barnier accused the UK of reneging on Withdrawal Agreement commitments to allow EU officials to regularly scrutinise new customs arrangements in Northern Ireland - Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg
Michel Barnier accused the UK of reneging on Withdrawal Agreement commitments to allow EU officials to regularly scrutinise new customs arrangements in Northern Ireland - Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Bloomberg

Michel Barnier has ruled out a British plan to enter intensive "tunnel" negotiations over an EU trade deal in July.

Brussels' chief Brexit negotiator told EU ambassadors of the move for secret talks and accused the UK of reneging on Withdrawal Agreement commitments to allow EU officials to regularly scrutinise the new customs arrangements in Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period.

He warned senior diplomats on Wednesday that David Frost, the UK's chief negotiator, was attempting to use leverage over access to UK fishing waters to exact major concessions that would transform Britain into a manufacturing rival to the EU.

Boris Johnson is meant to meet the presidents of the three EU institutions for "high-level" talks to discuss progress in the deadlocked free trade negotiations this month.

Diplomatic sources claimed the reason an exact date was still not nailed down was because the UK wanted to announce the "tunnel" talks after the meeting and paint it as a success for the Prime Minister.

British sources blame scheduling difficulties caused by the need to match the diaries of the presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament.

UK officials said Britain wanted intensified talks in July, but not "tunnel" negotiations. "It remains to be seen if the EU is serious about making real progress next month," a British source said.

"The Tunnel" is Brussels jargon for secret talks carried out under media blackout and without regular briefings of EU ambassadors. The secrecy is used to encourage negotiators to break taboos and find a breakthrough.

The UK and EU entered the "tunnel" before compromises were found over the Irish border during negotiations over the Withdrawal Agreement.

Mr Barnier told ambassadors of the 27 member states in Brussels that the two sides were too far apart on fishing rights, the "level playing field" and the European Court of Justice to go into the "tunnel". He said the UK had to show willingness to compromise on its red lines first.

"The UK wants the negotiating tunnel with constant bargaining over the summer, but it is totally unclear on what as the positions are so far apart at this stage," an EU diplomat said, before suggesting any "tunnel" talks would only happen in September or October.

"The wish to have a 'tunnel' when there are no grounds to build it is blocking progress on the high-level meeting," a diplomat told The Telegraph. "The UK request is only meant to justify not asking for a extension to transition."

The meeting is the last chance for Mr Johnson to ask for an extension to the transition period beyond this year to buy more time for the talks. He has vowed never to ask for the delay, which the EU fears has increased the likelihood of a no trade deal exit that would force both sides to trade on less lucrative WTO terms.

Mr Barnier accused the UK of rowing back on its treaty commitments over the Irish border by insisting that any EU checks of customs arrangements were pre-approved by the UK. The UK insists it will always fulfil its obligations.

"The UK wants to only allow technical checks three times a year, which is a serious reduction of what was agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement, and it wants the checks pre-approved," a diplomatic source said.

Mr Barnier's damning criticism emerged before Michael Gove holds talks with the EU on the joint committee for the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement on Friday.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster angered EU diplomats with his suggestion that the coronavirus pandemic would concentrate minds in Brussels and force them to strike a deal.

"Michael Gove rightly said Covid-19 would sharpen EU leaders' thinking – but not in the way he thought," one diplomat from a country traditionally friendly to Britain said. "Now their first and foremost thought will be to protect the single market. There will be no free ride."

Mr Barnier said the UK was making the most of its leverage over fishing rights to demand concessions over rules of origin that could boost British manufacturing.

Mr Frost was offering tiny concessions over fishing rights but expected the most flexible rules on diagonal cumulation, he said. This would allow the UK to assemble goods with parts from around the world before exporting them to the EU tariff and quota-free as a British good.

Caving in to the British demands would allow the UK to become a competitive manufacturing hub for the EU, Mr Barnier warned.

Diplomatic sources said Mr Frost had overestimated the hold of EU fishing nations such as France, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands over the rest of the bloc.

The British compromise is thought to be a willingness to take other factors into account when calculating fishing opportunities, such as the impact on coastal communities and pre-EU fishing rights, as well as zonal attachment.

Zonal attachment is a method that reflects where fish are rather than the historic catch patterns used in the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.

Mr Barnier also accused the UK of offering US trade negotiators better terms on food and animal health standards than the EU.

The Government is considering a dual tariff system for US imports, which would subject products such as chlorinated chicken to a higher tariff than food produced to the same standards as British farmers.

"The UK has literally got double standards where it is more flexible about standards towards the UK than towards the EU. Two words – not acceptable," a diplomat said.