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Jacob Rees-Mogg writing in the Telegraph
Throughout the long and drawn-out process of leaving the EU, the most baffling thing has been how some seem to regard the pronouncements of that wondrous body, the European Commission. For lo, these are holy writ. When the Commission says something, it is deemed to be infallible, its opinions inevitable and, most intriguingly of all, its approach entirely disinterested. This detached, Olympian body never “pushes a line”, it simply hands down great thunderbolts of truth. In the run-up to the European Council Theresa May attends this week, it is time for the genuine truth and real facts to be faced up to. These are as the Prime Minister insists they are, not as the Commission and its cheerleaders here invent.
We have sought sincerely to cooperate with the Commission. Indeed, we have already made startling concessions to be seen to be doing just that. Yet all that Brussels does is bank those, ignore its own proclaimed “values” and sacred legal order, and await the next concession that British opponents of Brexit insist we must make to the EU. Rhyme and reason do not apply, but ultimately facts will out and here are some of the facts the Prime Minister will insist upon in Brussels this week.
The United Kingdom will not accept being a subservient state. In the case of tariffs, once we have left the EU, it is non-negotiable that our trade minister should be able to respond to any threat of increased tariffs from other nations as suits our national interest, not the EU’s. If they think that we are bound by the EU’s 'duty of sincere cooperation' or its common commercial policy, then they will rightly not take us seriously. We must be able to negotiate and sign trade deals. Yet this does not depend just on our legal ability to do so. It depends on how other countries view us. If they think that we are bound by the EU’s “duty of sincere cooperation” or its common commercial policy, then they will rightly not take us seriously. The critical aspects of trade negotiations happen at the end when deals are done. We will not get there if other states see we cannot cut deals. In the words of one country’s frustrated trade negotiator, Britain has to decide if it is a serious country or a joke nation. It would be humiliating for others to have cause to think thus of us.
