As the Prime Minister said on 21st September, the UK has treated the EU with nothing but respect during the withdrawal negotiations, which Britain has approached in good faith.
However, it is now clear to me, given the increasingly dismissive conduct of EU leaders at the Salzburg, that the UK has not received the same in return. However, as I predicted, both Michel Barnier and Donald Tusk have now moved towards taking us seriously and making a positive deal.
We have made significant progress in delivering a withdrawal agreement, but two significant issues remain – the nature of our economic relationship with the EU and the future of the Northern Irish border. We have put forward concrete proposals on how to address these outstanding issues, whilst ensuring that we delivered on the result of the referendum.
In the past, I expressed concern about bullying tactics from Brussels and believed that the EU were pushing us towards no deal by demanding the unacceptable. I have said before that I would like to avoid this outcome, but a deal is simply not worth overturning the referendum result, and it is certainly not worth breaking-up this country – the Prime Minister said the very same during her statement.
As we move forward, the Government is preparing for no deal and stands ready to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK. The Government will also do all it can to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland. And, of course, we stand ready to seriously engage with the EU on any remaining issues.
The ball is now in their court, and our mantra stays the same – no deal is better than a bad deal. We will not make a bad deal. In view of recent developments, I believe we are on track for a very good deal indeed.
