AG百家乐在线官网

The EU has downplayed Boris Johnson's chances of securing his favoured post-Brexit trade relationship with the bloc.

Stefaan De Rynck, an adviser to EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, warned the UK it faces "a different ball game" to the EU's recent trade negotiations with Canada.

Earlier this month, the prime minister said he was seeking a "comprehensive free trade agreement similar to Canada's" from upcoming negotiations on the UK-EU future economic relationship.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

2:42

The UK and EU have until the end of this year, when the Brexit transition period ends, to strike a trade agreement.

But, before talks have even started, the two sides are at loggerheads over whether the UK should have to agree to a "level playing field" with EU rules.

This would involve Britain continuing to follow Brussels in areas such as state subsidies, environmental protections and workers' rights.

It has also been suggested the European Court of Justice could continue to have influence over the UK under the terms of a trade agreement.

Mr Johnson has argued there is no need for the UK to accept EU rules as the price of a free trade deal, as he pushes for a Canada-style agreement.

And the prime minister's Europe adviser, David Frost, this week told a Brussels audience: "To think that we might accept EU supervision on so called level playing field issues simply fails to see the point of what we are doing."

But, speaking at the London School of Economics on Wednesday, Mr De Rynck said the UK won't be able to strike a similar deal with the bloc as the EU-Canada agreement.

He said: "Some in the UK now seem to want to become Canadians.

"But Dover is much closer to Calais than Ottawa is.

"Proximity matters, distance matters in trade. What also matters is the interconnectedness between our economies.

"So, in terms of zero tariff, zero quota access, this brings a lot of benefits to the UK economy and with benefits come obligations."

Mr De Rynck suggested trade talks over the next few months could get "rather difficult" as he expressed concern the UK government was moving away from the political declaration on a future relationship the two sides signed up last October.

That document, agreed by Mr Johnson, stated there should be "robust commitments to ensure a level playing field" between the UK and EU.

Mr De Rynck's comments came after Downing Street suggested Mr Barnier is now reneging on a previous offer of a Canada-style deal.

The Number 10 press office tweeted: "In 2017 the EU showed on their own slide that a Canada type FTA was the only available relationship for the UK.

"Now they say it's not on offer after all. @MichelBarnier what's changed?"

:: Listen to the Daily podcast on , , ,

Gavin Barwell, former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Theresa May, responded to the tweet to claim "nothing has changed" in the EU's stance.

He said the EU had always stressed a free trade agreement with the UK "would need greater level playing field provisions" than Canada's deal "because of the UK's geographic proximity and the interdependence of the two economies".

Mr Barwell also pointed to paragraph 77 of the UK-EU political declaration that Mr Johnson agreed last year.

Quizzed on how work was going to finalise the EU's negotiating aims, Mr Barnier said he had "no time for any polemics".

"On both sides we have to keep calm and face the reality, to face the truth and assume the consequences - all the consequences - of Brexit," he told Sky News.