Emmanuel Macron has warned that the UK will have to remain in a customs union after Brexit unless European fishermen are given full access to British waters during trade negotiations. The French president made clear the EU would use the issue of continued access to UK fisheries to exert pressure on Britain during the next phase of the Brexit process. To avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, Theresa May has agreed that the UK will stay in a customs union after a 21-month transition period if a wider trade deal is not ready to come into force. In a warning shot fired at May, Macron implied at a press conference that the threat of the UK remaining in the customs union would be used to the EU’s advantage. He said: “We as 27 have a clear position on fair competition, on fish, on the subject of the EU’s regulatory autonomy, and that forms part of our lines for the future relationship talks, which is a lever, because it is in our mutual interest to have this future relationship.

Source: Huffington Post November 25, 2018 17:48 UTC