MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has commented on the kingdom’s possible remaining in the customs union after Brexit, saying that the UK government was ready to “surrender” in its talks with Brussels and to agree to become a de facto “punk” of the bloc.
“I really can’t believe it but this Government seems to be on the verge of total surrender… We have already agreed to hand over £40bn for nothing – and certainly not a trade deal – in return… We have agreed to become the punk of Brussels, signing up not just to their existing rulebook but to huge chunks of future regulation – even though we will have no say in drafting that legislation,” Johnson said in his article for The Telegraph newspaper.
The ex-foreign secretary added that the decision to remain in the customs union with the EU bloc was explained by the fact that the consequences of London’s possible annulment of the existing customs regulations had been exaggerated by those whom Johnson labelled as “scaremongers.”
“Under these proposals, we are agreeing that the EU would have a say on whether this country is capable of making that final exit from the EU’s essential institution, the customs union… In other words, we are on the verge of signing up for something even worse than the current constitutional position. These are terms that might be enforced on a colony,” Johnson stated.
On November 4, The Times newspaper reported, citing sources in Brussels and London, that UK Prime Minister Theresa May had managed to win concessions from Brussels that would keep the United Kingdom in the customs union and therefore resolve the Irish border problem.
The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in June 2016 and is expected to do so by late March 2019, while there are still certain stumbling blocks that impede talks, namely, the Irish border and the post-Brexit UK-EU economic relations which make a no-deal scenario of Brexit a possibility.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
