Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

Irish PM says UK must pay for any bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland

Ireland’s prime minister has said he will not dismiss the idea of building a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland, but insisted the UK must pay for it.

Boris Johnson and the Democratic Unionist party have spoken in favour of the idea.

Last week the UK prime minister described it as a “very interesting idea”, adding: “Watch this space.” Leo Varadkar said he had discussed the idea with Johnson recently, revealing he told him it was “worth examining”.

But the taoiseach said he had also told Johnson he would expect the UK to pay for it. “At which point he suggested, ‘no, no, the EU is going to pay for it’,” Varadkar said.

“So that’s definitely not going to happen, because neither Northern Ireland or Scotland are going to be in the EU. But it was kind of half serious, half joking in a way.

“But all messing aside, I do think at the very least a high-level engineering assessment should be done as to whether it is a viable proposal.”

Other parties have been less enthusiastic about the idea, with the Ulster Unionist party leader Steve Aiken saying investment was urgently needed in Northern Ireland’s infrastructure first.

Varadkar said: “I know people dismiss these things out of hand, but they used to dismiss the Channel tunnel as well – the idea of building a tunnel between France and Britain – and I know what I see when I see a bridge tunnel between Denmark and Sweden, when you fly over New Orleans and you see 110 miles of bridge, it’s extraordinary,” he said.

“I think we need to at least check out is this viable in engineering terms and how much money it would cost to do.”

However Varadkar said he was more interested in talking to Johnson about other projects the two nations could work on together, such as a high-speed rail link connecting Dublin, Belfast and Cork, and better connections to the north-west.

He suggested hourly trains between the cities as well as improving the A5 road to Derry and Donegal.

Varadkar said he was also interested in the idea of a cross-border university, involving the Ulster University campus at Magee in Derry with Letterkenny IT, as well as the greenway projects and the Ulster canal.

“There are actually loads of really good projects we could do together that might not cost as much and would definitely be more feasible than a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland,” he said.

“But in my pursuit of those ones I’m not going to dismiss the one that the prime minister’s particularly keen on.”

Almost a million Irish passports were issued in 2019, Dublin has revealed.

The record total was hit because of a surge in applicants from the UK – with tens of thousands of people living here apparently seeking a way to maintain their European citizenship after Brexit.

Interest from the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland peaked in March and October – the months when the UK was initially due to leave the EU.

Fears of losing a host of rights – including access to the European health insurance card and the Erasmus university scheme – are thought to have inspired many to seek the extra documentation.

Anyone living in the UK who has either Irish parents or grandparents is entitled to a passport for the country.

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign affairs minister said it had been “another bumper year for the passport service”.

Application numbers have gone up every since 2015 – the year before the Brexit referendum.

Mr Coveney added: "I want to thank the staff of the passport service who have worked hard in recent years to ensure the government provides a modern, secure and efficient service.

"The Irish passport is a valuable document and we continue to strengthen all processes to prevent fraud and maintain its integrity and security."

Boris Johnson should reconsider his refusal to extend the 11-month timeframe available for agreeing a deal on the future relationship with the EU after Brexit, Ursula von der Leyen has suggested.

The European commission president said she had “serious concern” over the limited time available for the negotiations and emphasised the need to keep all options open.

“It’s not only about negotiating a free trade deal but many other subjects,” Von der Leyen said in an interview with the French newspaper les Echos. “It seems to me that on both sides we must ask ourselves seriously if all these negotiations are feasible in such a short time.”

Once the UK leaves the EU on 31 January it will remain in the bloc’s customs union and single market until the end of 2020, with an option to stay within those arrangements for a further two years.

But the prime minister has said he will not agree to such an extension, claiming there is ample time to negotiate a comprehensive deal covering all aspects of the current EU-UK relationship, from trade to internal security, transport and data-sharing.

The withdrawal agreement provides for a “moment of truth” on 1 July, by which time both sides will need to have agreed on prolonging the transition period or face running out of time.

Should there not be a deal in place on trade, for example, the UK would face major disruption to its economy, with tariffs and quantity restrictions being immediately applied to goods being sold into the EU market.

Von der Leyen, a former German defence minister, said the risks for both sides meant an extension of the transition period could not be ruled out.

“I believe that it would be reasonable to review things in the middle of the year, if necessary to see if an extension is needed,” she said.

Earlier this week, the Guardian revealed that London is expected to co-host the next phase of the Brexit negotiations in a highly symbolic shift in focus from Brussels.

A leaked EU document seen by the Guardian lays out the key areas of cooperation which will be the subject of negotiation once the withdrawal agreement is ratified and the UK has withdrawn from the bloc at the end of January.

According to the paper, EU diplomats representing the member states will on 10 January look at the issues involved in maintaining a free flow of data after Brexit and allowing the UK’s financial services sector to continue to operate within the EU through a decision on the “adequacy” of UK regulation in those two areas.

Later in that week, the internal discussions will move on to trade in goods and services and the arrangements for intellectual property and public procurement.

On 14 January, diplomats will scope out their position on fisheries and the need for a level playing field under which the UK will need to sign up to EU fiscal, environmental and social standards.

Further seminars are planned on the governance of any agreement to allow dispute resolution, the arrangements in haulage and aviation, security, foreign policy, space, energy, mobility of citizens travelling between the UK and the EU, and future British involvement in the EU’s programmes, including in higher education.

Nigel Farage has conceded Brexiteers must be prepared to make concessions ahead of crucial talks between the UK and the European Union over their future relationship.

The Brexit Party leader, who failed to win a single seat at the general election, also rejected suggestions that he denied Boris Johnson’s Conservatives a triple-figure majority by standing candidates in Labour areas.

His comments on LBC radio come as the prime minister’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill is expected to pass through all its parliamentary stages when the House of Commons returns after the Christmas recess.

Given Mr Johnson’s resounding victory at the general election, the government is now preparing to legally sever ties with the EU on 31 January. The next phase of the negotiations – on the future relationship between the UK and the bloc – is expected to begin the following month.

But Mr Farage insisted the prime minister must still be prepared to walk away from the talks if he is unable to secure favourable trading terms from Brussels by the transition period deadline of December 2020.

“I think for the first time we’ve potentially got the upper hand in these negotiations,” Mr Farage said.

Asked for the probability of a no-deal happening at the end of the process, the Brexit Party leader replied: “I would still think that it’s 25 per cent – it’s no more than that.”

He continued: “I think some sort of deal will be cobbled together and as a Brexiteer I know I’m not going to get everything I want. That’s just not possible, there are going to be all sorts of compromises on fishing, I’m sure etc.

“But have we turned a corner? Are we heading to the right place? Yes.

But the comments from Mr Farage also come just days after the new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said an extension to the negotiating period over the future relationship may need to be agreed.

“I am very concerned about how little time we have,” she told the French newspaper Les Echos. “It seems to me that, on both sides, we should seriously consider whether the negotiations are feasible in such a short time.

“I think it would be reasonable to take stock in the middle of the year and, if necessary, agree on an extension to the transition period.”

Pressed on decision to stand Brexit Party candidates in areas where the Tories were challenging Labour incumbents, Mr Farage also rejected suggestions from “idiots” that by doing so he had stopped Mr Johnson from winning a triple-figure majority at the election.

He said: “Number one, I stood against them in the south and south-west of England, we probably would have had a hung parliament, but we didn’t do that as it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do.”

“Most of those people who voted for Boris in those northern seats had voted for me in the May elections,” he added. “We were the gateway. Once you’ve broken the tribal habit of voting it becomes easier to move on.”

Taskforce follows EU warning over need to extend negotiating period beyond December 2020

Boris Johnson will reportedly set up a new negotiating team in Downing Street to spearhead talks over the UK’s future relationship and trading agreement with the EU after Brexit.

The team – called “Taskforce Europe” – is expected to be operational by 31 January 2020 and coincide with the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) ceasing to exist as a Whitehall department.

It will be responsible of overseeing the UK’s future relationship with the EU after Brexit, including difficult negotiations over a free trade agreement.

The Mail on Sunday said the new team will be spearheaded by Mr Johnson and his Europe adviser, David Frost, and will operate out of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office.

“In 2020, we will move forward to establish a future relationship and free-trade agreement with the EU,” a source said.

“Following the election, the government has a clear and renewed mandate to achieve this. We want our new relationship to be based on an ambitious free-trade agreement, and a close friendship between sovereign equals.”

After the general election, a government spokesperson confirmed that DExEU, which was created by Theresa May after the referendum, would be wound up once the UK legally severs its ties with the EU on 31 January.

Initially, it had been set up to “oversee negotiations to leave the EU and establish the future relationship between the UK and the EU”.

It comes as the critical legislation – known as the Withdrawal Agreement Bill – is expected to clear the Commons when MPs return from the Christmas recess, paving the way for UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January.

However, Britain will then enter the “transition period”, remaining inside many of the bloc’s institutions and abiding by its rules until the future UK-EU relationship is negotiated between London and Brussels.

Mr Johnson has consistently argued this can be delivered by December 2020, but Ursula von der Leyen, the new European Commission president, said an extension to the negotiating period may need to be agreed in the summer.

“I am very concerned about how little time we have,” she told the French newspaper Les Echos. “It seems to me that, on both sides, we should seriously consider whether the negotiations are feasible in such a short time.

Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, urged Mr Johnson yesterday to walk away from talks with the EU if the prime minister is unable to secure favourable terms from Brussels by the end of 2020.

But he said he believed “some sort of deal will be cobbled together” and urged Brexiteers to be prepared to accept compromises on “all sorts”.

McAllister, asked by the Hanover-based RND news portal Sunday if Scotland could "very quickly" acquire EU membership, replied that such accession would be "presumably shorter" than the bloc's procedure for outside candidates.

"Scottish institutions are already asking me whether I can be their contact person in Brussels after Brexit," said McAllister, adding that Scottish universities were keen to retain EU research and academic incentives and that he studied the Scottish media "daily."

A post-Brexit Scottish accession bid was, however, "currently a theoretical question," said McAllister who has German and British nationalities, is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and chairs the European Parliament's committee on Foreign Affairs.

The "first prerequisite," he said, was whether Edinburgh under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon prevailed with a second independence referendum in 2020. Scots voted in a 2016 referendum to remain in the EU after they had rejected independence by 55% to 45% in 2014.

McAllister, referring on Sunday to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's post-election drive to take the United Kingdom out of the EU — despite Scottish objections — by January 31 said the British premier "stood before enormous challenges."

"A new round is this battle has begun" in Britain's Brexit drama, McAllister told RND (Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland [Editorial Network Germany]).

McAllister grew up in Cold War West Berlin where his father, originally from Glasgow, was a British forces civilian official and his mother as a music teacher.

Asked if Britain, post-Brexit on January 31 would rearrange its future relations with the EU by the end of 2020, McAllister described the time-frame as "extremely ambitious."

"A detailed free trade agreement is in any case not realizable in so few months," he said, speculating that London might seek a transitional phase of "up to two years."

"The UK may be leaving the EU, but remains linked to us in many ways," he added.

The chancellor Sajid Javid has said farmers can enter the new year with confidence they will be able to “thrive” after Brexit as he confirmed just under £3bn of funding for 2020.

The money – to be spread over two years – will be used to support farmers when the UK leaves the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy direct payments scheme next year.

The cash will allow funding for direct payments for 2020 to continue at the same level as this year, and supplement the remaining EU funding that farmers will receive for development projects until 2023.

Mr Javid said: “When we leave the EU and are freed from the Common Agricultural Policy, we will be able to support our vital rural communities – who are a cornerstone of life in the UK – with a fairer and less bureaucratic system.

“Farmers can enter the new year with confidence that they have our backing and will be able to thrive after Brexit.”

The environment secretary Theresa Villiers added: “Outside the EU we will have a simpler, fairer funding system – one that rewards farmers for enhancing our environment and safeguarding our high animal welfare standards.

“We are committed to making sure our rural communities feel the benefits of Brexit and will ensure our farmers get a better deal.”

NFU Scotland’s president Andrew McCornick said: “With us set to leave the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy on 31 January 2020, it is essential that the farming industry knows where it stands with regards direct payments.

“Farm businesses are dependent upon these payments and, until we see a fairer redistribution of the share of the profit in the supply chain, direct payments will remain important for all farmers and crafters.

“Government commitment to continue to fund direct payments when we leave the EU is welcome.

“When we meet ministers and MPs in the new year, we will press for a long-term funding commitment for farming and measures that will help farmers secure a fairer share of returns from the supply chain.”

After country leaves bloc citizens still have rights for another 11 months

With the UK’s departure date from the EU now effectively set in stone, 31 January will be a historic day. The article 50 process will have been completed and the country will no longer be in the EU.

However funereal those who wished to stay in the EU may be feeling there will still be time to enjoy the rights of EU citizens because the UK will remain part of the single market for another 11 months.

Here are some things you can still do in 2020 because of the transition period.

1. Holiday in the EU
You can still travel to any EU member state up to 31 December 2020 with no impediments such as visas. After Brexit it is likely that visa-free trips will continue for stays of up to 90 days. The European health insurance card which will give health cover for tourists in another member state still applies.

2. Take up a summer job in the EU
Some might have fond memories of formative weeks and months working on the continent as a student, whether waiting in restaurant, working in a factory, child minding in the Med, or working in a holiday resort in Spain. During the transition period students and any other workers will still have the right to work in another member state. This is because freedom of movement rules, which includes freedom of movement of labour, still pertain while the UK is in the single market. Freedom of movement is likely to end on 31 December next year.

3. Get a full-time job in the EU
For the same reason British citizens will still be eligible for full time positions in the EU. After Brexit some countries will discriminate in favour of EU candidates.

4. Retire to the EU
Some of those that had dreamed of retiring to the EU at some point are already speeding up their plans to get in before the drawbridge goes up. As part of the withdrawal agreement British citizens who are settled, whether working or retired, in the EU before the end of the transition period will retain most of their rights as EU citizens for the remainder of their lives. The key rights that have yet to be negotiated include an annual uprating of pension sent from the UK and the continued right to move within the EU.

5. Go on an Erasmus study programme
Some 17,000 British students studied in another member state according to the most recent data for 2017/2018. Most of the university places for 2020 are already allocated but places are still available for further education college students and apprentices who are eligible for work placements for between two weeks to three months. It is hoped that Erasmus will continue after Brexit but this depends on negotiations on the future relationship with the EU.

6. Apply for EU funding for science research
British citizens will still be able to apply for funding in Horizon2020 programmes during the transition period. Eligibility will also still apply for European regional development funds and European social funds, which have been important sources for infrastructure and environment developments in rural areas and for many not-for-profit organisations seeking to help people into employment in impoverished areas.

7. Apply for arts funding
The EU’s Creative Europe funding stream will remain open to British applications. Also promising a call for applications in 2020 is IPortunus, a new EU mobility fund for artists .

8. Nominate yourself for a literature prize
British writer Melissa Harrison won the UK’s European prize for Literature in 2019 for Among the Barley, a novel exploring the dangers of nationalism and xenophobia, in 2019. The prize fund is open in 2020 to British citizens.

9. Look at cross-border healthcare opportunities
EU citizens have the right to access healthcare in any EU country and to be reimbursed for care abroad by their home country. This is in addition to the emergency health care for tourists under the Ehic system. Little is written about cross-border healthcare, or the processes involved but it is still available during the transition period, says the EU. The NHS’s guide to getting treatment abroad is >here< while the EU’s overview is >here<.

10. Know your rights and benefits for 2020
The EU’s guide to rights for UK and EU citizens during the transition period is available >online<. This is a handy guide published in 2018 but which still applies outlying various scenarios.

'We have made it very clear that, because of geographical proximity and our economic interdependence with the UK, any new trading arrangement will require firm and fair rules'

He said preserving the integrity of the single market remained the top priority of the EU.

“This isn’t just a commission policy or priority – it is the priority of the EU 27 because it is in their economic interest. We have made it very clear that, because of geographical proximity and our economic interdependence with the UK, any new trading arrangement will require firm and fair rules.”

Mr Hogan said both sides would have recourse to all tools to facilitate customs cooperation, including technologies but the EU must, first and foremost, protect its financial interests and the enforcement of its public policies to guarantee their integrity.

Jeremy Corbyn has tabled an amendment to Boris Johnson’s EU Withdrawal Bill seeking a two-year delay to the implementation period in an attempt by Labour to avoid a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020.

It comes as Mr Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings is under fire over his plans for a radical shake-up of the civil service. His blog post urging only “weirdos and misfits” to apply for roles in Downing Street has been widely mocked online.

A group of Brexit-backing Tory MPs, meanwhile, have launched a legal bid to have Big Ben chime at 11pm on 31 January to mark the UK’s expected formal departure from the EU.

Extra 'red tape' before teaching qualifications are recognised will also add to existing recruitment crisis, Liberal Democrats warn

EU teachers are likely to face fees of £4,345 to work in the UK for five years after Brexit in a move that will worsen an existing recruitment crisis, ministers have been warned.

They will also need to overcome red tape before their teaching qualifications are recognised – adding further delays to a process that can already take up to four months in England, the Liberal Democrats are warning.

The party is accusing the government of planning to “throw away the rights of EU teachers to work in the UK”, despite promising some limited financial and other help to vital NHS staff.

The threat has emerged after a 35 per cent plunge in recruits from the continent since the Brexit referendum – and after teacher-training targets were missed for the seventh year in a row.

“Thousands of EU teachers each year come to the UK to keep our schools running,” said Layla Moran, a Lib Dem MP and potential leadership candidate.

“Now, Boris Johnson wants them to pay through the nose for the vital work they do. It’s nothing more than a teachers’ tax.

“It is shocking that the Tories want to give the cold shoulder to EU staff after Brexit when we are in the middle of a teacher recruitment crisis.”

The ‘tax’ – adding up to £4,345 over five years – will be imposed because of two separate changes planned by Mr Johnson’s government, the Lib Dems have calculated.

From next year, EU citizens are set to require visas to come to work in the UK. Teachers from outside the EU need a ‘Tier 2’ visa, which costs £1,220 if it is for more than 3 years.

Boris Johnson will host the president of the European commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, in Downing Street this week as he prepares to take Britain out of the EU at the end of this month, kicking off a race against time to secure a free trade deal.

The prime minister will use the comfortable majority he won at last month’s general election to press his Brexit bill through the House of Commons in three days when MPs return to Westminster on Tuesday.

He is expected to use his meeting with Von Der Leyen to underscore the government’s determination not to extend the transition period, which will mean the UK remains subject to many EU rules and structures until the end of December.
[...]
Labour sources in the Lords are not optimistic of achieving anything but tweaks to the legislation. Nor do opposition amendments in the Commons have much hope of success.

Northern Ireland parties, however, including the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), the Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) and the Alliance, have made a rare agreement to table amendments jointly, calling for the government to ensure unfettered access to the British market.

Johnson has promised that Northern Ireland businesses will face “no barriers of any kind”, even telling exporters during the election campaign that if they were asked to fill in any paperwork, they should contact him and he would tell them to throw them in the bin.

A leaked government report revealed by Labour during the campaign suggests, however, that there are profound concerns about the potential economic impact of the effective border down the Irish Sea created by the new protocol.

The Alliance MP Stephen Farry, the party’s deputy leader, tweeted: “We all retain our different perspectives on the wisdom of Brexit and the Johnson deal. But there is common ground on how to try to protect NI economy in the context we have been given.”

Johnson is unlikely to be defeated over any such amendments, but he may face political pressure to accept them given that they reflect pledges he has made publicly.

Labour has warned about the threat of a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020, and is expected to table an amendment that would extend the transition period by two years if the government were to fail to reach a free trade agreement by June.

Moderate Conservatives, including Philip Hammond and David Gauke, had expressed similar concerns, but they and many other dissenting voices on Brexit were swept away in the general election and replaced by Johnson loyalists.

A Conservative campaign for Big Ben to bong specially to “celebrate” the moment Brexit goes ahead on 31 January appears to have been dashed.

An amendment to the withdrawal agreement bill to require the famous bell to be re-attached at 11pm on Brexit day – at unknown cost – has not been selected for debate.

The decision is a blow to scores of hard Brexit-backing Tory MPs, including David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, who had signed a Commons motion demanding the move.

The 315ft, Grade I listed Elizabeth Tower which holds the bell and clock face is undergoing a £61m restoration in which costs have already more than doubled.

However, Downing Street is planning events to mark the moment the UK leaves the European Union, after nearly 47 years – without saying what – and could yet renew the push for Big Ben to bong.

And Nigel Farage has claimed he is planning to throw a £100,000 party in Parliament Square on 31 January, with fireworks, bands and speakers.

The office of new Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle told The Independent that he had decided the amendment should not be debated.

MPs are about to begin three days of detailed scrutiny of the withdrawal bill, which – after Boris Johnson’s election triumph – is likely to sail through unchanged.

Other amendments include a Labour demand for the post-Brexit transition period to be extended by two years to December 2022, if the prime minister fails to secure a free trade agreement with the EU by the end of this year.

Exclusive: leaked resolution by main political groups follows threats of deportation made by British minister

The European parliament will express its “grave concern” about the attitude of Boris Johnson’s government to the 3.3 million EU citizens living in the UK following threats of deportation made by a British minister.

In a leaked resolution drafted by the main political groups and due to be backed by MEPs next Wednesday, Johnson’s administration is accused of creating “anxiety” in recent months.

The condemnation follows the comments of security minister Brandon Lewis, who threatened EU citizens with deportation from the UK if they do not apply for settled status before the deadline of 30 June 2021.

The minister later claimed that his comments had been taken out of context, raising concerns about what the parliament’s political groups describe as “conflicting” announcements from Whitehall.

The parliament’s resolution, obtained by the Guardian, further warns:

• Without a “physical document” offering proof of their right to residency at the end of the transition period on 1 January 2021 there is an increased “risk of discrimination against EU27 citizens by prospective employers or landlords who may want to avoid the extra administrative burden of online verification, or erroneously fear they might place themselves in an unlawful situation”.
• The “limited geographical spread” of assistance offered to “older and vulnerable” EU citizens, including those who may have difficulty in using digital applications, needs addressing.
• The application procedure that EU citizens go through should be dropped to ensure that there is a presumption that they will can retain their rights to live and work in the UK.
• Johnson’s decision to revise the withdrawal agreement bill to allow the independent monitoring authority, responsible for overseeing UK policies towards EU citizens, to delegate its powers to other bodies is concerning.

The parliament will also state that the level of free movement granted to EU citizens after Brexit should be a factor in deciding the “degree of future cooperation in other areas”.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats’ acting leader, said of the resolution: “This confirms Boris Johnson cannot be trusted to keep his word when it comes to the rights of EU citizens in the UK. The risk of another Windrush catastrophe is all too real with this shameful approach.”

An unpublished letter from the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, to the Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, echoes the MEPs’ fears, according to a copy seen by the Guardian. Barclay responds in correspondence by defending the UK’s approach and seeking updates on the schemes being developed by the EU27 governments.

The details of the parliament’s call to the Johnson administration comes ahead of a meeting between the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British prime minister in Downing Street on Wednesday.

The former German defence minister will give a speech, entitled Old Friends, New Beginnings, at her former university, the London School of Economics, before joining the prime minister at No 10, where they are expected to express confidence about the coming year.

Sources close to Von der Leyen said she would seek to privately sketch out the potential pitfalls in the 11 months Johnson has set as the timeframe within which to agree a comprehensive deal.

But EU sources said the trip would be the first of a number of initiatives designed to move the Brexit negotiations into a more collaborative phase that avoids the clashes of the last three years.

“We do not want to do this negotiation in public, that is for sure,” one senior EU official said.

When the EU’s negotiating position is revealed in draft form in early February, before its formal adoption by the EU27 at a meeting of ministers on 25 February, it will only contain “headline principles” in order to avoid an early clash with the UK.

Johnson has said the UK will not align with EU rules after Brexit, while the EU is expected to make significant “level playing field” demands on the UK in exchange for a zero tariff, zero quotas trade deal.

But the detail of those demands are not expected to be stipulated in the negotiating mandate to avoid clashes when the talks start in earnest in early March.

It is understood, however, the demands will closely follow those contained in the agreement made between Theresa May’s government and the EU over the operation of the shared customs territory envisioned in the original Northern Ireland backstop.

The EU will seek dynamic alignment with the bloc’s state aid rules and the continuation in the UK’s domestic law of the bloc’s directives on the exchange of information on taxation, anti-tax avoidance rules and country-by-country reporting by credit institutions and investment firms.

The UK will be asked to reaffirm its commitment to curb harmful tax measures as defined in the EU code of conduct.

In the field of environmental standards, sources said the EU will “at the very least” seek a commitment from the British government that it will not lower the EU’s existing environmental standards in key areas such as industrial emissions, air quality targets, nature and biodiversity protection and environmental impact assessments.

EU sources suggested that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, could push for a closer alignment to ensure the UK stays in line with Brussels as Von der Leyen pushes her new green deal.

The EU will also demand that the UK implements a system of carbon pricing that is as effective as the EU emission trading scheme for greenhouse emission allowances. The EU additionally wants non-regression clauses in the trade deal on labour and social protection standards.

The UK is expected to leave the EU on 31 January. The withdrawal agreement bill is returning to the Commons this week and will move to the House of Lords on Monday. It is expected to be on the statute books by the middle of the month and the European parliament will vote to ratify the deal on 29 January, according to a leaked draft agenda.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have already provided certainty to over 2 million people who have been granted status through the EU settlement scheme. Our scheme is free, there is plenty of support for applicants and, once the withdrawal agreement bill passes, EU citizens have until the end of June 2021 to apply.

“We have done far more than any other EU member state has done for British citizens, and it’s time they adopted a similarly generous approach.”

The Brexit deal is expected to complete its progress through the Commons and Lords by the middle of the month, and be ratified by the European parliament by the end of January. Trade talks proper are expected to begin in late February or early March.

During the transition period, the UK will remain in the bloc’s customs union and single market until the end of 2020, with an option to stay within those arrangements for a further two years.

Johnson has said he will not agree to such an extension, claiming there is ample time to negotiate a comprehensive deal covering all aspects of the current EU-UK relationship, from trade to internal security, transport and data-sharing.

The moment of truth will arrive on 1 July, by which time both sides have to have agreed to prolong the transition period or face running out of time and ending up without a deal.

Should no trade deal have been reached, Britain would face major disruption to its economy, with tariffs and quantity restrictions being immediately applied to goods being sold into the EU market.

Early in the transition period the EU will also have to declare UK regulations “adequate” to ensure the free flow of data after Brexit, and to allow UK financial service providers to continue operating within the bloc.

Intellectual property, public procurement, fisheries and a level playing field on fiscal, environmental and social standards must also be addressed, as must dispute resolution, road and air transport, security, foreign policy, space, energy, citizens’ mobility, and future British involvement in EU programmes such as higher education.

Best of the rest

Brussels has sounded the alarm at a fresh threat to EU citizens living in the UK after Brexit, as the Commission’s president arrives in London for talks with Boris Johnson.

The prime minister is under fire over sudden plans to “water down” an independent watchdog meant to protect citizens’ rights during the exit process.

The independent monitoring authority (IMA) was stipulated in the Brexit agreement, but under the UK’s planned implementation of the deal its powers will be split up and cannibalised by other bodies.

A letter sent by Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, raises “concern” that EU citizens may not have a fully-independent organisation through which to make complaints against the government – amid a backdrop of serious distrust between EU citizens and the British state.

The EU’s chief negotiator warned that the IMA must have the ability “to act rapidly and in full independence” on any problems raised, adding that a number of “issues of concern” had already emerged about the settlement scheme.

The 3.2m EU residents in the UK are already highly-suspicious of the ‘settled status’ scheme meant to guarantee their status after Brexit, warning some rights will be lost.

Brandon Lewis, the security minister, heightened those fears when he appeared to threaten EU citizens with deportation if they do not apply for settled status before the deadline of 30 June 2021.

It is believed that both the Home Office and the Brexit department opposed the power to abolish the IMA – but were overruled by No 10.

The fresh row comes ahead of Mr Johnson’s first meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in Downing Street later today.

The pair are already on a collision course over the demand for a trade deal to be secured by the end of the year, even as the UK seeks to break free from EU regulations.

The trade talks risk being soured over Brussels’ renewed fears over Britain’s commitment to the rights of EU citizens once the transition period ends.

The European Parliament has echoed those concerns in a separate resolution drafted by the main political groups and due to be backed by MEPs next week.

MEPs fear that, without a “physical document” offering proof of right to residency, there is an increased “risk of discrimination” by prospective employers or landlords, who may want to avoid the burden of online verification.

The lack of assistance offered to “older and vulnerable” EU citizens, including those who may have difficulty in using digital applications, will also be criticised.

The European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt has previously encouraged MEPs to reject the deal if problems with citizens’ rights were not fixed by the UK, though in practice they are very likely to approve it. The parliament is scheduled vote on the withdrawal agreement on 29 January at an extraordinary sitting in Brussels.

But Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, has dismissed the concerns over EU citizens’ treatment, insisting he had been able to “reassure” Mr Barnier after receiving his letter.

He insisted the UK “hugely valued” EU citizens, adding: “We want them to stay and the [withdrawal agreement] bill delivers on that.”

The minister also added: “Many of the issues you have raised in your letter will apply equally to UK nationals in the EU and I note that some member states are still to set out details on what UK nationals will be required to do to protect their rights.”

But Liberal Democrat MEP Caroline Voaden warned: ”By watering down the role of the Independent Monitoring Authority, agreed with the EU to monitor the rights of EU citizens in the UK, Boris Johnson is risking a new Windrush scandal.

“With delicate negotiations ahead of us, eroding the EUs faith that our promises will be honoured only damages British long term interests.”