The European Union is offering the UK a Canada+++ Brexit deal. Brexiteers welcomed EU’s free trade deal offer for Britain once it quits the trading bloc. British Prime Minister Theresa May is now under even greater pressure to dump her compromise Chequers deal.
According to Donald Tusk, the Canada+++ Brexit deal would be much further reaching on foreign policy cooperation and trade. It would also be further reaching on internal security.
Donald Tusk is the President of the European Council or the Council of the European Union. The European Council is the voice of the governments of the EU member states.
BREXIT stands for BRitain EXITing the European Union. In 2016, Britons voted to leave the EU. In other words, the electorate voted for Brexit. It was a very close vote; 51.9% voted to leave while 48.1% voted to stay. A Brexit supporter is a Brexiteer.
Canada+++ deal popular among Eurosceptic MPs
Former Brexit Secretary, Davis Davis, had favoured the Canada+++ deal. Boris Johnson favours a ‘Super Canada‘ deal, which is essentially the same as the Canada+++ deal. Eurosceptic MPs will be pleased with the EU’s latest offer. The letters ‘MP’ stand for Member of Parliament.
Mr. Johnson described Mr. Tusk’s proposal as a “superb way forward.”
According to the Daily Telegraph, leading Brexiteer MPs welcomed Mr. Tusk’s offer. They prefer a looser Canada+++ free trade deal with the European Union to Theresa May’s Chequers proposal. Mrs. May’s proposal is simply a semi-Brexit, say Brexiteers.
Britain must show more respect
Mr. Tusk also said that Britain needs to show more respect if it is serious about achieving a deal. This was in response to a comment by Jeremy Hunt, UK Foreign Secretary, who compared the EU to the Soviet Union.
At the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham last week, Mr. Hunt said:
“What happened to the confidence and ideals of the European dream? The E.U. was set up to protect freedom. It was the Soviet Union that stopped people leaving.”
“The lesson from history is clear: If you turn the E.U. club into a prison, the desire to get out won’t diminish, it will grow – and we won’t be the only prisoner that will want to escape.”
Mr. Tusk said that Mr. Hunt’s comment was ‘unwise’ and ‘insulting.’
Tusk’s Canada+++ tweet
On October 4th, Mr. Tusk tweeted:
“From the very beginning, the EU offer has been a Canada+++ deal. Much further-reaching on trade, internal security and foreign policy cooperation. This is a true measure of respect. And this offer remains in place.”
Pound up on Canada+++ offer news
As soon as the EU’s new offer was announced, the pound sterling started to rise. According to PoundSterling Live, today the pound hit a 3-month high against the Euro. Experts predict sterling could go to €1.20 if a deal looks imminent.
In an article in PoundSterling Live, Rob Samson wrote:
“The Pound rallied to a three-month high against the Euro ahead of the weekend amid growing confidence a Brexit deal covering the terms of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU will soon be struck.”
“Sterling rallied to record a high of (€)1.1341 on reports European Union negotiators see the outline of a compromise on the Irish border issue that is holding up Brexit talks.”
What is a Canada+++ deal?
It is the trade deal Canada has with the EU – CETA – plus more. CETA stands for Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
The deal with Canada aims to remove approximately 95.5% of tariffs between the EU and Canada. However, some items such as food and agriculture will continue having tariffs. Tariffs are duties or taxes that governments levy on imported goods.
Put simply; Canada has access to the EU market, the world’s biggest, without having to comply with EU laws or contribute to the EU budget.
With a Canada+++ deal, the UK would get more access to the single market in areas which really matter to the country. For unfettered access, the UK would have to pay money. This is something Britain is willing to do.
According to Simple Politics:
“A Canada+++ deal would benefit the UK’s financial, aviation, and energy markets where a normal Canada set-up wouldn’t.”
