Jean Claude Juncker’s State of the Union 2018 address: UK ‘will never be an ordinary third country’ after Brexit
The UK will "never be an ordinary third country" for the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker said in this morning's State of the Union address – but indicated that the Chequers' proposal of a Single Market for goods is a non-starter.
Giving his annual speech, the European Commission President told MEPs in Strasbourg that the UK would "always be a very close neighbour and partner, in political, economic and security terms".
Sterling rose against both the euro and the dollar as Juncker promised to work "night and day" to reach an agreement, wiping out losses from earlier in the morning.
He added: "In the past months, whenever we needed unity in the Union, Britain was at our side, driven by the same values and principles as all other Europeans. This is why I welcome Prime Minister May's proposal to develop an ambitious new partnership for the future, after Brexit.
"We agree with the statement made in Chequers that the starting point for such a partnership should be a free trade area between the United Kingdom and the European Union… The Commission’s negotiators stand ready to work day and night to reach a deal."
Juncker highlighted the Commission's vested interest in getting a deal as part of ensuring "there is stability [in the EU] afterwards".
"It will not be the Commission that will stand in the way of this, I can assure you of that," he said.
Juncker, who did not comment on the state of negotiations, stressed that the EU was committed to finding a "creative solution that prevents a hard border in Northern Ireland", saying the Commission would be "very outspoken should the British government walk away from its responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement".
The Luxembourgish politician added: "It is not the European Union, it is Brexit that risks making the border more visible in Northern Ireland.”
But he also indicated that a key part of May's Chequers proposal – the Single Market for goods – would not fly.
“The UK government must understand that a country leaving can’t be in the same privileged state as a member,” Juncker said. “If you leave the union, you are of course no longer part of our Single Market, and certainly not only in parts of it you choose.”