STRASBOURG, Feb 11 — The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier today warned Britain against any unrealistic expectations for its prized financial services sector during post-Brexit trade talks with Europe.
“There must be no illusion on this issue: there will be no general, global or permanent equivalence on financial services,” Barnier told MEPs during a plenary session of European Parliament in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
His unusually firm statement came after British finance minister Sajid Javid vowed today to build a “durable relationship” for financial services in a post-Brexit trade deal, under plans he will outline in the coming months.
This would address “the long-term needs” of the financial industry and “would provide the certainty on which internationally mobile businesses can depend,” Javid added.
Britain left the European Union on January 31 after nearly half a century of membership — and the post-Brexit transition period ends on December 31.
During the transition, the fate of the City of London financial hub will be a major concern in trade talks with Brussels expected to grant Britain access to the European market in term-limited deals known as “equivalence”.
Barnier insisted that equivalence would be a one-way street decided by Brussels based on a regular assessment of whether British rules on finance were sufficiently compatible with those of the EU.
“We will keep control of these tools and we will retain decision-making autonomy,” the former French minister insisted. — AFP
