Downing Street unveils Taskforce Europe for EU trade talks
The Prime Minister’s sherpa David Frost will head up trade talks with the EU following the UK’s exit this Friday, Downing Street has confirmed.
Frost, who secured the 11th hour withdrawal agreement with Brussels that paved the way for Commons approval for a final deal, will head up a “small and agile” team of around 40 called Taskforce Europe.
CityAM revealed Frost would be leading the EU side of trade talks last week.
He will report directly into Boris Johnson, with deputies working within the Foreign Office and Treasury.
The Department for Exiting the EU will cease to exist from 11:01pm, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed, however it is unclear what will happen to Brexit secretary Steve Barclay, who is seen as loyal and effective minister.
It is thought Barclay will be handed a new role at the impending Cabinet reshuffle, where a number of female ministers are likely to lose their jobs.
One of the top priorities for Frost’s team will be fishing, one of the totemic issues to have emerged during the 2016 referendum, and is one of the first scheduled to be concluded, with a theoretical deadline for an agreement of July, alongside financial services.
However this morning Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the BBC it would be a “trade-off” for financial services access.
“Bear in mind 70 per cent of the fish you sell, you sell into Europe. So unless British people are going to start eating an awful lot more fish, you have a problem there,” Varadkar said.
He added:
“But that’s an area where you’re in a strong position. An area where you’re in a very weak position is one of the most valuable parts of the British economy which is financial services. It’s such a crucial part of the of the British economy… [and if FS] are cut off from the single market, the European market, that will be a very severe blow to the British economy and the south-east, in particular in London.
“You may have to make concessions in areas like fishing in order to get concessions from us in areas like financial services, and that’s why things tend to be all in the one package.”
This morning, the Prime Minister’s spokesman hit back, saying: “Our position has not changed. We are taking back control of our waters.
“The EU should be in no doubt about that fact.”
Main image: Getty