MICHAEL Gove has accused the EU of aiming to “exercise control” over nations under the guise of pursuing “virtuous goals”.
However, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also said that the progress of Brexit talks are a cause for “steady optimism”, despite the increased preparations for a No-Deal situation.
Gove was appearing before a Westminster committee on the progress of the UK-EU Brexit negotiations alongside David Frost, the UK’s chief negotiator.
During the committee hearing, Gove was also pressed on why the UK maintaining the EU’s high standards on matters such as climate, environment, and labour laws post-Brexit is a sticking point in negotiations, if there are no UK plans to lower those standards.
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Baroness Brown said: “We’ve had all sorts of assurances in the UK that we have no intention of reducing our standards in those areas, so is that really still a challenge in negotiations?”
Frost answered, saying he thought the EU “might be being a bit overambitious in what they seek to get us to commit to”.
However, he then added that there was “no real argument about the underlying commitments”.
Frost said that the UK was a country with high standards which the UK Government had already outlined, but issues remained around whether that “baseline” may move in the future and create friction in trade.
Michael Gove then interrupted to say that he felt some people view the EU as if they were “Plato’s guardians, disinterested upholders of virtue” and other countries who disagree are “potential rogues”.
He said that the EU would sometimes use “high-sounding claims to advance virtue” to “fetter” both member and neighbour states.
Gove said the EU’s aims were not necessarily to “achieve that virtuous goal, but to exercise control”.
“I think it’s important, when we look at what the EU say, to distinguish between the noble motives they sometimes profess and the rather less noble behaviour that they often exhibit,” he said.
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The Minister for the Cabinet Office also told the committee that there was cause for “steady optimism” from the Brexit talks, but that the UK was making preparations for a No-Deal scenario so that it “is not held hostage”.
He added: “No one would be happier than me if we could conclude an agreement, but we have an absolute obligation to ensure that the country is ready in the event that we don’t.”
Last month Boris Johnson said there was “no sense in thinking about timelines” that go beyond October 15, and that he was ready to walk away from talks if that deadline passed without a deal being reached.
Johnson and the UK have since been accused of “brinkmanship” as a result. Gove and Frost told the committee today that the Prime Minister’s deadline still stands.
As such, and as confirmed by the committee chair Hilary Benn, there will likely be another committee hearing on the progress of the Brexit talks in the near future.
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