Economics
EU Says Johnson Will Be Blamed If Brexit Wrecks Trade with U.K.
- Phil Hogan urges Britain to accept alignment with EU rules
- Regulatory divergence a ‘big worry’ for U.K. industry, he says
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European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said the U.K. will have “full responsibility” for any damage to the British economy after the post-Brexit transition expires, countering a stinging attack by Boris Johnson’s government on the conditions set by Brussels for a follow-up deal.
Hogan told a conference on Tuesday that the EU wants economic integration with the U.K. to remain deep, repeating that any free-trade agreement between both sides should align competition, environmental and other standards. The insistence that Britain stick to EU rules “simply fails to see the point of what we are doing,” the U.K.’s chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, warned hours before Hogan’s comments.