> The EU has slapped down the UK government after it attempted to bypass Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules.
> Documents obtained by The Independent show that the European Commission was unhappy after British officials asked each member state directly about their plans to cope with new checks on goods coming into the UK.
> At one point, the commission told countries in the bloc to ignore the UK government completely. It then sent a memo telling member states to provide only “short general information” because of the “problematic” nature of the British request.
> The commission later warned the UK that contacting each country directly was “outside” the terms of Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal – saying it was of “significant concern” since a proper response to British queries should be “harmonised at EU level”.
> The rebuke emerged as Rishi Sunak’s government came under pressure from both the EU and British business bosses to spell out exactly how the latest controls on imports, due to come into force in October, will work.
> Peter Mandelson, the former business secretary who served as EU trade commissioner from 2004 to 2008, said trying to circumvent Brussels was always going to backfire.
> He told The Independent: “It is tempting to try and go round the commission, but this doesn’t work and is counterproductive. The British government should be doubling down on a good relationship with the commission and building trust. Britain desperately needs this in order to mitigate our losses in trade.”
> Trade experts also said it had been “unwise” to try to go round Brussels chiefs, and that it was indicative of a “still-struggling relationship” ahead of another mountain of red tape for businesses across the continent to navigate.
> One food industry expert said the memos showed “unhelpful friction” between the UK and the EU at a time when they should be working together to avoid major disruption later this year.
> The issue began on 2 June, when officials from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sent a message to EU member states asking each to fill out a questionnaire on their readiness to deal with new controls on food and agriculture trade.
> A week later, on 9 June, a memo from the European Commission, forwarded to member state diplomats by officials from the Council of the European Union and passed to The Independent, warned: “Member states are advised not to respond to the online questionnaire requested by the UK.”
> On the same date, an official at DG Sante, the commission’s health directorate, wrote to officials at Defra warning against “the use of channels outside” the EU-UK trade agreement for communicating on such matters.
> A follow-up memo, sent to member states by the commission on 21 June, said that countries “wishing to respond” should avoid giving too much detail.
> After telling members of the bloc that it was “harmonising” communication with the UK, the commission then shared its own list of more than 70 questions for London – grilling British officials on preparations for the import controls set to come into force on 31 October.
> The Independent understands that the British government explained to Brussels that it was willing to work through the EU Commission.
> But David Henig, a director at the European Centre for International Political Economy, said UK officials should have known that Brussels coordinates member states’ responses to avoid any potential divisions on Brexit issues.
> The Brexit expert said: “It looks unwise for the UK to have approached the issue in this way, something that could damage the trust we need.” Mr Henig added that the row was “symbolic of a still-struggling relationship – it’s more friction that we don’t need”.
After 5 decades, they STILL don’t understand the fundamentals of the EU.
EU stands by their constitution, UK rag attempts to make this sound outrageous, more at 10.
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> The EU has slapped down the UK government after it attempted to bypass Brussels on post-Brexit trade rules.
> Documents obtained by The Independent show that the European Commission was unhappy after British officials asked each member state directly about their plans to cope with new checks on goods coming into the UK.
> At one point, the commission told countries in the bloc to ignore the UK government completely. It then sent a memo telling member states to provide only “short general information” because of the “problematic” nature of the British request.
> The commission later warned the UK that contacting each country directly was “outside” the terms of Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal – saying it was of “significant concern” since a proper response to British queries should be “harmonised at EU level”.
> The rebuke emerged as Rishi Sunak’s government came under pressure from both the EU and British business bosses to spell out exactly how the latest controls on imports, due to come into force in October, will work.
> Peter Mandelson, the former business secretary who served as EU trade commissioner from 2004 to 2008, said trying to circumvent Brussels was always going to backfire.
> He told The Independent: “It is tempting to try and go round the commission, but this doesn’t work and is counterproductive. The British government should be doubling down on a good relationship with the commission and building trust. Britain desperately needs this in order to mitigate our losses in trade.”
> Trade experts also said it had been “unwise” to try to go round Brussels chiefs, and that it was indicative of a “still-struggling relationship” ahead of another mountain of red tape for businesses across the continent to navigate.
> One food industry expert said the memos showed “unhelpful friction” between the UK and the EU at a time when they should be working together to avoid major disruption later this year.
> The issue began on 2 June, when officials from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sent a message to EU member states asking each to fill out a questionnaire on their readiness to deal with new controls on food and agriculture trade.
> A week later, on 9 June, a memo from the European Commission, forwarded to member state diplomats by officials from the Council of the European Union and passed to The Independent, warned: “Member states are advised not to respond to the online questionnaire requested by the UK.”
> On the same date, an official at DG Sante, the commission’s health directorate, wrote to officials at Defra warning against “the use of channels outside” the EU-UK trade agreement for communicating on such matters.
> A follow-up memo, sent to member states by the commission on 21 June, said that countries “wishing to respond” should avoid giving too much detail.
> After telling members of the bloc that it was “harmonising” communication with the UK, the commission then shared its own list of more than 70 questions for London – grilling British officials on preparations for the import controls set to come into force on 31 October.
> The Independent understands that the British government explained to Brussels that it was willing to work through the EU Commission.
> But David Henig, a director at the European Centre for International Political Economy, said UK officials should have known that Brussels coordinates member states’ responses to avoid any potential divisions on Brexit issues.
> The Brexit expert said: “It looks unwise for the UK to have approached the issue in this way, something that could damage the trust we need.” Mr Henig added that the row was “symbolic of a still-struggling relationship – it’s more friction that we don’t need”.
After 5 decades, they STILL don’t understand the fundamentals of the EU.
EU stands by their constitution, UK rag attempts to make this sound outrageous, more at 10.