EU will PUNISH Britain as it has every reason to make Brexit talks DIFFICULT – academic
THE European Union has “every interest” to give Britain a bad Brexit deal in order to deter other countries from leaving the bloc, a leading business professor has warned.
Professor Fariborz Moshirian said the European Union could make Brexit negotiations “difficult” in order to make an example of Britain.
Mr Moshirian said it is “premature” to assume a Brexit deal has already been done as he said the EU may make talks harder for Britain.
Mr Moshirian, who is the director of the Institute of Global Finance, told CNBC: “The other issue that we need to be very careful is that the first round of negotiations doesn’t mean that the UK ended up with a good deal or great deal.
“Indeed, the European Union has every interest to make it difficult for the United Kingdom to have the best or the good deal when we move to the second phase of negotiations.
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The European Union has every interest to make it difficult for the United Kingdom
“Because other countries within Europe is waiting to see whether the UK gets the best or a good deal and if so they will be next in the queue to walk away from the European Union.”
The EU has refused to progress on to trade talks until progress is made on key Brexit issues - including the Irish border, the Brexit divorce bill, and citizens’ rights.
But Mr Moshirian said the Irish border issue is “harder and harder to narrow down” as Ireland has been granted veto rights.
The business professor claimed Northern Ireland wish to remain in the European Union after Brexit but that is something the United Kingdom “cannot afford to agree” on.
The UK has reportedly agreed that it has liabilities of around €90 billion with the European Union and will pay the bloc between €45 to €55 billion (£40 billion to £49 billion).
Theresa May is expected to agree on a final Brexit divorce bill figure as she meets with Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday.
A Department for Exiting the EU spokesman said: "Intensive talks between the UK and the European Commission continue to take place in Brussels this week as we seek to reach an agreement."
It will be at the European Council summit in December where EU leaders will decide whether significant progress has been made on the key Brexit issues.
