The European Commission President insisted breaking the terms of last year’s Withdrawal Agreement would lead to an acrimonious future relationship between Britain and the bloc. She warned the wrangling over a free-trade agreement is now in danger of collapse because of the feud over the Government’s plan to scrap EU customs checks and state aid rules in Northern Ireland. In her first “State of the Union” address to the European Parliament in Brussels, Mrs von der Leyen accused the Prime Minister of putting “trust and good faith” at risk with the move to rip up large chunks of the divorce deal.
The German fumed: “The European Union and United Kingdom jointly agreed it was the best, and only way, for ensuring peace on the island of Ireland.
“We will never backtrack on that. This agreement has been ratified by this house and the House of Commons. It cannot be unilaterally changed, disregarded or disapplied. It is a matter of law, trust and good faith.”
In a move that could inflame tensions within the Conservative Party, Mrs von der Leyen quoted a 1975 speech by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The top eurocrat said: “Britain does not break treaties. it would be bad for Britain, bad for relations with the rest of the world and bad for any future treaty on trade we may need to make.”
“It was true then and it is true today,” she added.
“Trust is the foundation of any strong relationship.”
Mrs von der Leyen declared the EU’s “affection for the British people will never fade” but warned the bitter wrangling over a post-Brexit deal has put talks in trouble.
She said: “With every day that passes, the chances for a timely agreement do start to fade.
“Negotiations are always difficult and we are used to that.
“Talks have not progressed as we would have wished and leaves us with very little time.”
Senior Members of the European Parliament urged the Brussels boss to maintain maximum pressure on Downing Street to scrap its Brexit legislation.
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“Great Britain, you are losing your credibility on the global level. What I can say is the European Parliament will never vote for any trade agreement with Great Britain if we cannot trust each other.
“The upcoming months will be extremely challenging, they will shape Europe, let’s show our citizens that Europe chose solidarity first.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiiAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5leHByZXNzLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvcG9saXRpY3MvMTMzNjE0Ni9CcmV4aXQtbGF0ZXN0LVVyc3VsYS12b24tZGVyLUxleWVuLW5ld3MtZXUtZGVhbC1Cb3Jpcy1Kb2huc29uLWJpbGwtc3RhdGUtb2YtdW5pb24tc3BlZWNo0gGMAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy9wb2xpdGljcy8xMzM2MTQ2L0JyZXhpdC1sYXRlc3QtVXJzdWxhLXZvbi1kZXItTGV5ZW4tbmV3cy1ldS1kZWFsLUJvcmlzLUpvaG5zb24tYmlsbC1zdGF0ZS1vZi11bmlvbi1zcGVlY2gvYW1w?oc=5
2020-09-16 08:32:00Z
CBMiiAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5leHByZXNzLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvcG9saXRpY3MvMTMzNjE0Ni9CcmV4aXQtbGF0ZXN0LVVyc3VsYS12b24tZGVyLUxleWVuLW5ld3MtZXUtZGVhbC1Cb3Jpcy1Kb2huc29uLWJpbGwtc3RhdGUtb2YtdW5pb24tc3BlZWNo0gGMAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmV4cHJlc3MuY28udWsvbmV3cy9wb2xpdGljcy8xMzM2MTQ2L0JyZXhpdC1sYXRlc3QtVXJzdWxhLXZvbi1kZXItTGV5ZW4tbmV3cy1ldS1kZWFsLUJvcmlzLUpvaG5zb24tYmlsbC1zdGF0ZS1vZi11bmlvbi1zcGVlY2gvYW1w
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