Euranet Plus Summit Part 2: Interview with Michel Barnier (in English)

[Music] welcome to the yeren f+ summit debate broadcasting live from here in the European Parliament in Brussels I'm Dave Keating and I'm joined today by Michel Barnier who is the --use chief negotiator for brexit I'm also going to be joined by our network of radio journalists from across Europe who will be asking questions to mr. Bernier via video and audio links mr. Barnea thank you so much for joining us here today good evening now our discussion comes at a very important point for these brexit negotiations because splits are emerging in the UK over several questions one of which is whether the UK should be in a customs union with the EU after brexit there are also questions being asked about whether the UK should join the European Economic Area that's the zone including Norway and Iceland in which countries have access to the single market and in exchange they have to pay into the EU budget and follow a large amount of EU laws so we're one year to go and we still don't really have a very clear idea of what the future UK EU relationship is going to be like it seems to me we have four possible scenarios here we have a hard brexit in which the UK has no access to the signal market we have a free trade deal between the UK and EU in which it has some access we have the UK joining the European Economic Area in which it has complete access without the ability to vote or it's within the realm of possibility we have the UK cancelling brexit and remaining in the EU so let me ask in terms of where we are right now in the negotiations which of those four scenarios do you think is most likely first of all this negotiation is very complex it is extraordinary but he's also very complex and to try to simplify and to be and understood we have to put things and the steps in the right order what did that stake today not the Federation's right now we have to conclude and finalize the agreement on the withdrew and remained an orderly withdrew and it by choice taking to a country of four options by option from the very beginning for the day one is to work for another Li withdraw with UK to organise oddly separation that is the point of this the goal of this draft treaty we have put on the table six weeks ago we are working lots with the British delegations and I just say that the British negotiator are very professional and we have succeed to agree and more released more or less 75% of the content of this withdraw agreement but what remains is very important the governance many other issues and obviously the Ireland and Northern Ireland situation if we succeed to agree on this utterly withdrew in October November the next step will be the ratification and our side European Parliament the council and British side the British Parliament and UK will leave the institutions in March if we succeed beginning in March we will have a transition period of 21 months during which the destruction the UK will remain in the single market and in this custom Ian and and all the policies of the Union and we so we will have the time to negotiate the situations as far the near future so that's concern let me just show my favorite slide which is very famous now there are many times well yes and you can have the answer to questions in any case the best relation with EU will remain to be member of the EU the second best will be the Norwegian regime being part of the single market and being outside of the EU and the last one will be free trade agreement exactly what we have negotiated recently with Japan Coria or Canada but each of this model is available if this model is on the table is it short of the UK to read the you to leave the single market and to leave the customer union but if the UK want to choose one of this model it's possible but in that case you will have to change one or two of these red lines because because with red lines UK close itself the door to each of this model isn't it the point I cannot able to answer to the question listen to debate in UK in the art of Lords and somewhere else but I am NOT to express an opinion disappoint no I mean seriously discussed in the UK though I mean what is your assessment about the feasibility of the UK joining the EEA I mean in your discussions with Norway and Iceland are they happy to have the UK during the EA would it have to fundamentally change of the UK with a net but this option is available is it on the table but the point is each model as its own balance of right and obligation and speaking about Iceland Liechtenstein and Norway I think they can agree for UK to join the year but at the same level of right and obligation the same is the same framework can it be another framework that the system has natural access for the UK so do UK if you look the reason why the UK closed except the door to the e model today is it farted they refused to recognize the role of the court of justice they refused to recognise the one of the for freedom the freedom of movement for the people they refused to recognise regulatory framework would EU and in addition they don't want to respect the the single trade policy that is the red lines of the UK not our time let's take our first question from one of our our satellite journalists here it's coming from Portugal let's hear from Francisco with your net plus member station radio renaissance since the UK will leave the customs union do you think that it will be necessary to reintroduce a border with special infrastructure between the Republic of Ireland and Elston so this obviously is another very fraught issue in the negotiations what's your standpoint right now let me add just just between the two questions the first one and this one that the only frictionless model for the future was UK would be no way plus no way being part of single market plus a custom million for each of the other model we have the obligation to create and to implement control for goods for the standards for the norms and for the rule of origins coming back to the specific point of Ireland in other arm which is the most sensitive point of the negotiation one point is clear if we want an agreement of the other withdraw of UK in October or November we must have inside this Agreement an operational solution for Ireland and Northern Ireland that's and Manfredi is clear and we have proposed one solution on the use side which can be discussed and amended but the negotiation but in any case we will have such an immersion solution what we could backstop and our proposal is clear it is exceptional for a very unique solution the unique situation is to include propose to include Northern Ireland inside our custom union that means that we have to implement some control and it's the only way to avoid the odd border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and how acceptable do you think that is to the UK at this point having a depends of the commonweal I spent two days in Ireland and Austin Ireland a few weeks ago ten ten days ago I was very useful interesting meeting the all the communities in Northern Ireland in Londonderry and Londonderry the business community or met also the community of young people of women it was very moving and I'm sure that if we stand at the technical operational level we succeed to dramatize the situation to avoid politics and ideology I'm sure that what we have proposed that could be once again could be amended is acceptable by the people of Northern Ireland let's take our next question which is coming from Bulgaria this question is coming from the Ania Tov with member station Bulgarian national radio mr. Bonilla how should the social and professional security of the EU citizens including Bulgarians who work for British companies should be guaranteed after brexit and not only in the UK but for the outsource British companies in the EU as well in the high-tech IT human resources and creative arts sectors this question is very important because it clearly proved that speaking about brexit is not only speaking about negotiation between London and Brussels with diplomats and it's about people about local businesses and so many people in fact 3.5 million people among them many Bulgarian citizens and also on the other side 1.5 British citizens living and working in you so what we have succeed today and it's the condition that we succeed to ratify this treaty in beginning of next year and to a green street in October November to give to all these people four point five people British and European citizens total security on their rights and we are speaking of the right of these people for themselves from their family for the duration of their life and including the social rights and the rights of residents so I think we are able to do to give to this passion not only for the bigger versions didn't good a good answer but the condition is to agree because nothing is agreed until everything is agree and the real certainty for this deal will come with the ratification of this treaty next year beginning next year so you're convinced that if the text of this draft is approved and goes through you can guarantee security - my answer is yes for the people who have already made choice of life today or from today until the end of the transition period plan in this agreement that means until the end of December 2020 for all these people I'm sure that if we agree final in this text the right will be will be secured it is another story for the people we will come after the brick seat and after the end with the transition depending of the what will be and I don't know yet the future immigration police in UK I want to bring up a slide now this is from our social media monitoring partner brand watch they've been taking a look at how the brexit conversation is unfolding on social media and one of the results struck me as quite interesting they compared the mentions of your name to your counterpart David Davis who is the UK's chief negotiator for brexit they found that amongst all the conversations that mentioned brexit and one of your names 94% mentioned your name while only 6% mention his why do you think you have become so famously associated with briggsie particularly in the UK because you are a household name in the UK now why has that been so much more the case for you than for David Davis we don't negotiate on twitter twitter is useful even necessary to command to give the keys to the citizens to explain the different issues of the negotiations also to to use what very important for me to transparency with Aveda citizens but we don't negotiate on on Twitter so I don't know really gentle but perhaps you can ask this question to David Davidson perhaps well it is a very closely watched issue here in Brussels we're not used to seeing these types of negotiations followed so closely do you feel that pressure from social media from citizens having these negotiations so closely watched by so many people this negotiation is extraordinary and complex once again it cannot be must be secret it must be a public debate the brexit is a very serious issue the fact that so many people in UK has voted to - against Europe we have consequences very very very serious and very important consequences for human social economic financial technical legal consequences but you have also lessons to the brexit and we have to draw the lessons that is the reason why I want to in the name of the 27 members in confidence in trust with the European Parliament to use it this time for the public debate to explain what means to be out and what's going to be in the EU and Vitaly consequences and also to try to to say that we have to draw the lessons and to to be clear there is no added value to the project and until now nobody has been able to prove to give me the proof that there is an added value to the brexit but there are lessons to draw to the lessons to the brexit and we have to build it the task of that head of states and Department a positive agenda photo to answer to the questions well we can take our next question live this questions gonna be coming live from Latvia we're going to hear from gintz from member station latvia's radio Ginn's can you hear me good afternoon everyone go ahead with your questions it's mr. Bernier again Sam Olens from Riga Latvia national radio you might have heard about a BLV bank case here in Latvia it recently collapsed after United States publicly accused it of money laundering including links to Kremlin friendly oligarchs now one of the questions is where that money previously held in a blv Bank will go and some say that it will most likely find its way back to Europe and quite possibly it's gonna be the United Kingdom so the question is how to avoid that after brexit UK potentially becomes offshore where dirty money flows and can you do anything about that I know this case but I don't want to comment not my my task has a negotiator to command this particular issue except that to say that all the regulations in you including UK until the brexit are very important and I as a former commissioner for internal market and financial services have work lots to rebuild the financial relations to draw the lessons of the crisis and to protect what is key our one our common good in Europe which is a financial stability including for Latvia and all the other member states the point is after the brexit to know what kind of relation we will build with UK and if we want to have a strong partnership and it is my goal to build a strong partnership not only for trade that also for internal security external security defence and foreign policy we will have to to be sure that we can avoid between us the damping that is a request and so we have to to negotiate or so to find the right tool for level playing field and this point is very important not only for the substance for the level playing field with for the economy it's also important because the Federation will be translated in one or many new treaties and be careful the point that each of this treaty for the situation will require the ratification not only the European Parliament with the 27 national parliament including the Parliament in Riga that means that we will we have to be very careful today the condition of this debate and to succeed until the end of the process we have to be careful about this point of the dumping of the river or the level playing field we have to find the new game let's take our last question this is coming from Poland from journalist Avis sinkovitz from member station Polsky radio considering brexit in a broader sense samples are also afraid of mechanisms that may be launched by the UK's exit from the EU it has been talked a lot about a domino effect of brexit which may make other countries also start a political debate about their state used in the EU so what can be done to prevent Czech seat or freqs it or perhaps even eat I'll exit considering events this week so far we haven't seen that domino effect are you confident we won't yes because there first of all we must avoid a debate debate is democracy so we have to participate to take part the debates and to explain what means to be inside and what means to be outta you look look for the position for the French and for the others look at what happened with bracket negotiations it's much more complex much more difficult there is no added value so everything everybody can see what happened and the reason why we have decided to work in a total transparency unique it will be free it is really the first time that such a huge and important negotiation is managed in a way of total transparency so we have to not to be afraid by the debate to show what means to be out and in and in any case at the end of this process it will be clear it will be clear that it much more better it's better to be in that out I think brags that will make people feel more confident about saying yes but in the same time we have to draw the listeners to do to find a way to for the citizens to to feel that you protect them better than in the past so we have to launch some reform to launch new policy to draw relation to correct and to reform what must police need what need to be reformed in Brussels you won right well that's all the time we have for today thank you mr. Bernier taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us and thank you at home for what [Music]