Boris Johnson warned he can't 'blackmail' France into 'bad' Brexit trade deal
France's Europe minister says the bloc will not buckle, despite Boris Johnson's push for a "deal at all costs" by 31 December.
Monday 24 February 2020 14:01, UK
France has warned Boris Johnson that it will not be "blackmailed" into accepting a "bad" post-Brexit trade deal because of his refusal to extend the transition period.
Ministers from the 27 EU member states will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to thrash out the mandate for the negotiations on Britain's future relationship with the bloc.
Speaking ahead of this meeting, France's Europe minister Amelie de Montchalin indicated that the EU is preparing to take a tough stance.
She told TV station France 2 that France's farmers, fishermen and businesses would not pay the price in order for a trade deal to be in place by the end of the year.
"In this negotiation it must be understood by British businesses that we do not want a bad agreement - almost certainly, that we will sign up to no blackmail," Ms de Montchalin said.
She added: "It is not because that Boris Johnson wants a deal at all costs for December 31 that we will sign, under pressure, a bad deal."
And in yet another indication that access to UK fishing waters will be one of the main flashpoints, the French minister said: "The fishermen have the right to be protected, they know very well that if we sign a bad deal they will lose enormously."
Downing Street has rejected the suggestion that the UK is trying to "blackmail" the EU.
The prime minister's official spokesman said: "The UK's primary objective in the negotiations is to ensure that we restore our economic and political independence on January 1 2021."
Meanwhile, Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has urged the UK government to stick to the terms of the withdrawal agreement.
He was speaking after reports emerged at the weekend that Mr Johnson had ordered his Brexit team to find ways to "get around" the Northern Ireland protocol.
According to the Sunday Times, officials in Taskforce Europe are trying to evade Irish Sea checks on goods passing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Mr Varadkar said the withdrawal agreement was an international treaty and he expects the UK to "honour that in full".
Number 10 has insisted the UK will "comply with our obligations", with a spokesman saying: "The protocol specifically allows the UK to ensure unfettered market access for goods moving from Northern Ireland to GB.
"The UK signed the withdrawal agreement including the protocol last month, we will comply with our obligations."
Britain left the bloc on 31 January and is currently in an 11-month transition period which ends on 31 December.
This is designed to allow both sides the time to sort out the terms of the future relationship.
Despite fears from opponents and many senior figures in the EU that there is not enough time, Mr Johnson has ruled out extending the transition period beyond the end of 2020.
The UK will set out its demands for a trade deal with the EU on Thursday, along with a plea that the bloc should not "waste time".
Ministers are expected to seek a Canada-style agreement with zero tariffs in the negotiating mandate.
But French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed doubt that a deal can be struck by 31 December.
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Mr Macron said on Saturday that he expected talks to be tense, with fishing rights a key point of contention.
He said: "Boris Johnson has a card in his hand and it is fishing and with that he will try to gain access to the market."