21 February 2020

Boris Johnson’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, has confirmed that the UK will reject any level playing field provisions on regulations such as workers’ rights and environmental protections, and that it will not accept any oversight from the European Court of Justice.

Speaking in Brussels, Frost said moving away from regulatory alignment was “the point of the whole project”.

”That’s also why we will not extend the transition beyond the end of this year. At that point we recover our political and economic independence in full. Why would we want to postpone it?” he said.

Taking a hard-line position on the 31 December deadline risks the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal, and indeed some commentators have speculated that this is the government’s aim.

Frost went on to suggest that the UK will be vying for a Free Trade Agreement similar to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that the EU made with Canada.

The UK’s opening offer to the EU will be made in “written form” next week, he said, coinciding with the EU’s mandate, which is set to be finalised on 25 February.

A draft of the EU’s position revealed that it will seek, at a minimum, “non-regression” from EU standards when it comes to workers’ rights, the environment and other social concerns.