Boris Johnson should not expect any special favours from Ireland on access to Europe’s single market in EU trade talks, the country’s finance minister has said.
After Ireland held out in the first phase of Brexit negotiations for a deal to maintain open borders with Northern Ireland, Paschal Donohoe dismissed the notion that Dublin might now adopt a softer stance on single market rules than bigger EU powers such as France.
“Our interests are aligned with [those] of Europe and [those] of our colleagues in Europe. We will be seeking at all times to put both the European interests and the Irish interest first and I believe they are going to be fully aligned,” he told the FT.
Mr Johnson’s insistence on regulatory divergence from the EU to gain advantages for UK business is shaping up to be one of the biggest flashpoints in trade talks after Britain’s departure from the bloc on Friday. Both sides want a deep and close trading relationship but the EU has warned London that Britain’s market access will be curtailed by any weakening of alignment with European standards.
In an eve of Brexit interview, Mr Donohoe said: “The next phase of Brexit will be at least as demanding as the first phase.” He said 2020 would feel “quite similar to parts of 2019” when a prolonged deadlock took Britain close to crashing out of the EU without a deal.
Asked whether Ireland saw any scope for flexibility on the single market, Mr Donohoe said the rules were clear and a cornerstone of the country’s economic model. “Whatever the European Commission decides in relation to the operation of those rules Ireland will accept,” he said.
The minister was speaking as Ireland’s February 8 general election campaign enters its decisive phase with Leo Varadkar, the prime minister, trailing opposition leader Micheál Martin in polls. Mr Donohoe insisted his centre-right Fine Gael party, which leads the outgoing minority government, was “closing in” on its rival, Mr Martin’s Fianna Fáil. “I believe our prospects are very good.”
Mr Varadkar’s insistence on binding arrangements to keep the Irish border open in the UK withdrawal treaty played well with the Irish public as he came under British pressure to compromise. But neither his Brexit diplomacy nor strong economic growth has translated into an electoral bounce. With domestic issues dominating the campaign, the government has been heavily criticised for a lack of affordable housing and childcare and hospital overcrowding.
Mr Donohoe said it was “inevitable” that Fine Gael would face a testing election because it has been in power for two terms, having taken office in 2011 at the height of Ireland’s financial crash. “It is a demanding thing to do to win a third term in office and I expected we would be facing the kind of challenges that we are now,” he said.
Whoever wins will have to grapple with Brexit but Mr Donohoe said Dublin’s stance on the single market would be unlikely to change even if a new government took power. “Certainly it would be the objective of any future Irish government to continue with the work that this current government has done,” he said.
Britain’s stance meant trade talks would be more difficult given the tight timetable to achieve a deal before the UK transition ends on December 31, he said. “The constraints for negotiating this agreement within 2020 are very demanding.”
Mr Donohoe expects Michel Barnier, EU chief negotiator, will set out a “clear” position on the inviolability of the single market when he circulates a draft mandate for the talks early next week. “I would anticipate . . . that the development and protection of the single market will continue to be guiding light for the negotiations that are about to begin.”
Source: Economy - ft.com
