Brexit

#Brexit: UK must 'pay the price' for exiting EU

Published

9 years ago

April 13, 2017

Senior Belgian official Marc Tarabella has said that the UK “must pay the price” for exiting the EU, writes Martin Banks.

His hard-line comments come after the European parliament recently approved its negotiating guidelines for the upcoming Brexit talks, ruling out a deal on trade until the “divorce” settlement is thrashed out.

Tarabella, a Socialist MEP, told this website: "The British have said no to Europe. It is a regrettable choice, but a democratic one which we must respect. I believe in a hard Brexit, but a hard Brexit made in Europe.”

Tarabella is the head of the Socialist Belgian Delegation in parliament and his comments will be interpreted by some as a taste of the tough Brexit talks ahead.

He said, “The British must pay the price for their exit. It is out of the qu'aléatoire right now to offer the UK advantageous conditions and a preferential status which would set off a domino effect where each country will be tempted to blackmail the others to serve their own selfish ends.

"In any case we cannot continue with the UK having one foot in the door and the other outside. If you want to take part in a team you get on the pitch and participate rather than heckling from the stands," added the MEP.

"Being part of the EU grants certain rights but also implies several obligations! One cannot refuse to contribute and then demand all the benefits."

"To this end, Theresa May can rule out her dream of an a la carte arrangement. The single European market is the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. You may take it or leave it Theresa May."

"What is more, we will never accept any clause which reduces our legal, social or environmental standards. It is not for our citizens, our workers or our consumers to pay the price for a divorce which they did not seek.”

"To conclude, I would just add that we will treat the UK neither better nor worse than any other non-EU country in our future diplomatic relations, and never to the detriment of European states and citizens who wish to continue working for the common good,” said Tarabella.

Elsewhere, German Greens MEP Sven Giegold, in an equally tough approach to the upcoming Brexit talks, said any future EU-UK trade deal would mark a “turning point” in EU trade policy.

He said, “The Parliament plays a crucial role in the Brexit negotiations, because it has to ratify the withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU. The European Parliament differentiates between a withdrawal agreement, transitional arrangements and a future EU-UK trade agreement.”

Giegold, his party’s financial and economic policy spokesperson, said, "The Brexit position of the Parliament marks a turning point in EU trade policy. Britain will only get access to the common market, if it adheres to the EU's environmental, social and tax standards.

“Other than TTIP or CETA, a trade agreement with the UK would not undermine European standards. A trade deal with Britain, which follows European social and environmental standards, would be a positive model for EU trade policy.”

He added, “Parliament made very clear that there will be no trade deal with a UK following a tax haven strategy. However, this is not enough as the UK with its overseas territories is already the biggest tax haven in the world. The UK needs to end all its tax haven policies if it wants to get access to European capital markets. Great Britain must also no longer maintain tax havens in the Carribeans like the Cayman Islands or the BVI, as they promote worldwide tax dumping and money laundering.”

Giegold said parliament had "made clear" that the Brexit negotiations will adhere to the principles of fairness and transparency, adding, “The UK enjoys the benefits of EU membership until the last day, but at the same time it has to fully abide by European law. Before the UK exits the EU, it must neither negotiate future agreements with individual EU member states nor trade deals with third countries.”

He added, “Parliament will make sure that the negotiations will be transparent and that the Brexit deal will not be a backroom deal."

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