Theresa May delivered her hotly anticipated speech in Florence on Friday, saying that the UK wanted to devise a new partnership with Europe and negotiate a period of implementation.
May made it clear that the UK will be leaving the EU, without question, including both the single market and customs unions. May said the UK does “not pretend we can have all the benefits without the obligations” but hopes to create a new partnership from scratch rather than negotiate one similar to that of Canada or EEC membership countries including Norway and Switzerland.
“Let us not seek to adopt a model enjoyed by other countries, but be creative to adopt a new partnership,” she said.
According to Theresa May, there is “no need to impose tariffs as UK and EU share the same values.”
Highlighting the fact that the EU and the UK were each other’s largest trading partners, adding that it benefits both parties to create a new partnership.
“To make this partnership work we will need a strong and appropriate dispute mechanism”, she said, adding that the European Court of Justice would not have a say because “it would not be right for one party’s court to have jurisdiction over the other.”
Cooperation on security remains a key point for May, and proposes a “bold new agreement”. It would complement the extensive bilateral relationships already made with “European friends” to oversee security.
Period of implementation
May then moved onto the implementation period, which was expected to be the key point in her major speech. A “period of implementation would be in our mutual interest”, she said, adding that “access to markets should continue on current terms and Britain should take part in existing security measures.”
She said the framework for this time-limited period would likely be the existing structure of EU rules and regulations.
Divorce bill
May was quick to state that “some of the claims made of this issue are exaggerated and unhelpful”, and indicated that “the UK will honour commitments we have made during period of membership.”
“We both want to get this done as swiftly as possible and it is up to leaders to set the tone – one of friendship and cooperation. If we get the spirit right we will find we are able to resolve the issue where we disagree respectfully and quickly.”
May concluded her speech with some rousing lines, saying that the negotiation process “will be remembered not for the difficulties we faced, but the the creativity we used to overcome them… and not for the partnership that ended but for the new partnership that began.”