EU gives Barnier tough negotiating mandate for UK trade talks

The EU on Tuesday gave its chief negotiator Michel Barnier a robust negotiating mandate to get a free trade deal with Britain, which counters several of the red lines that London has set, AP reports.

The 27 EU nations are insisting that if Britain wants the best possible deal in the wake of its Brexit departure last month, it will have to adapt to EU rules and regulations on everything from state aid to environmental standards.

The EU is fearful that the UK could undercut EU firms if it is allowed to diverge too much from social, industrial and environmental standards that took years to build together.

British ministers were also gathering to finalize the UK’s negotiating mandate, which is due to be published on Thursday. Britain’s chief UK trade negotiator David Frost said last week that the right to diverge from the bloc’s regulations was “the point of the whole project” to leave the EU.