LONDON – The European Union is not “bluffing” when it says it will push Britain into a “hard Brexit” – stripping the UK’s membership of the 27-nation single market – if Prime Minister Theresa insists in opting out of freedom of movement, says the prime minister of Malta.
Joseph Muscat told the BBC says that the expectations May’s cabinet, specifically Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s expectations of staying in the single market while also placing restrictions on the freedom of movement for EU citizens is “just not happening.”
It is worth noting that Malta assumes EU presidency in January 2017 so Muscat will become even more of a prominent voice during Brexit talks next year.
Here are the key points of the interview with the BBC (emphasis ours):
“All of us have been pretty clear in our approach that we want a fair deal for the UK but that kind of fair deal can’t translate itself into a superior deal.
“I know that there is absolutely no bluffing from the European side, at least in the council meetings I have attended, saying ‘we will start in this position and then we will soften up’. No, this is really and truly our position.
“[Brexit talks could get] complicated and could be a bit of a Catch 22 – it won’t be a situation when one side gains and the other side loses.
“We are going to lose something but there will not be a situation when the UK has a better deal than it has today.”
Britain voted for a Brexit by a slim majority on June 23 and, since then, there has been much speculation on when the new prime minister Theresa May will trigger Article 50 and start the official two-year negotiation process for Britain to leave the EU. March 2017 is the current target date.
May said she will not give a "running commentary" on how negotiations are going but she has made it clear in various speeches that her government is prioritising immigration restrictions. This would imply a "hard Brexit" because the EU's official line is that it will not allow the UK to curb immigration and keep membership the Single Market at the same time.
Muscat's comments to the BBC echo those of various EU officials, notably that of the EU parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt. He said this in an interview with Business Insider, arguing that the deal Britain has discussed so far makes no sense.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Britain's Brexit ministers and the EU looks to have hit a new low, after Boris Johnson and David Davis were branded arrogant and clueless by officials with exit talks on the horizon.
In a particularly damning statement, EU parliamentarian Manfred Weber described Boris Johnson as "unbelievable."