: Good afternoon
everybody. I’ll start by welcoming Mr Barnier and his team to
Downing Street, not for the first time to Downing Street, to
start this round of negotiations on our departure from the
European Union. We have been talking, we’ve been having very
constructive conversations today as always. The next round will
focus on a number of things. For us I guess most saliently the
implementation period, a period in which we will try and give
clarity to both governments and business. It will be a
time-limited period and will lead to us being outside the customs
union and indeed the single market in the longer term. We are
very keen that we continue to have an extremely good and close
relationship that we, that relationship be on economic and other
grounds, and that it will continue in the long term. We have to,
however, in the next few months, arrive at the immediate outcome,
the political agreement on the implementation period. Our
negotiating team starting straight away - tomorrow certainly - on
an intensive period of negotiation, and we are confident that we
can get that political agreement at the March Economic
Council.
: Good
afternoon to all of you. First of all, David I want to thank you
for your hospitality and I was very pleased also to meet the
Prime Minister, . In a very short time, from now
to October, we are to advance on three fronts. First, number one,
translating our Joint Report in legal text; two, the transition
period, which you just mentioned, David. Let me recall that the
UK government has decided the date of the UK withdrawal, on the
29th March 2019. It is its sovereign decision. Mrs May has asked
to benefit from the single market and from the customs union for
a short period after this. The European Council has indicated its
readiness to consider this request. The conditions are clear,
very clear, everyone has to play by the same rules during this
transition. Let me add one point about this transition, the
certainty about the transition will only come with the
ratification of the withdrawal agreement. Number three, the
future relationship, our future partnership between the UK and
the EU. On that point we need also clarity, about the UK
proposals for the future partnership. The only thing I can say -
without the customs union, outside the single market - barriers
to trade and goods and services are unavoidable. The time has
come to make a choice. Thank you
Dan Rivers, ITV News: Mr Davis, we know we’re
leaving the customs union, but how can your government, how can
your party ever agree what the alternative arrangement should be?
And Mr Barnier, on customs, do you have any idea what Britain
wants and whether it’s at all achievable?
DD: The first thing to say is we have already
published a great deal of information about our proposals in
terms of what the customs arrangements will be, what the other
arrangements will be with respect to being outside the union.
We’ve said in terms we want a comprehensive free trade agreement
and with it a customs agreement. And to make that as frictionless
as possible. To make as much trade that currently exists as free
as possible whilst still giving ourselves the opportunity to make
free trade deals with the rest of the world where 90% of the rest
of the growth will come, according to the numbers of the European
Union itself. So, it’s perfectly clear what we want to do and
there’s no doubt about it, as you said yourself - we’re leaving
the customs union but we’re aiming for a good future for
Britain.
MB: On the same subject, to be clear the
negotiations are for the moment only about the orderly withdrawal
- and we have lots of work to do - and the transition, where we
are also some points of discussion, negotiation and perhaps
divergence. We will start the discussions about the future
relationship after March and for me on the base of the guidelines
of the European Council in March. This also gives time to the UK
to clarify its position for the future relationship. And to be
frank, I will not give a running commentary on the domestic and
internal debate in the UK. We will wait, on the European side,
for an official UK position of the Government, in the next few
weeks.
