Katy Balls Katy Balls

Has Chequers been chucked?

Theresa May heads to Italy this weekend for her summer holiday with her Brexit proposals hanging by a thread. Not only has the Chequers plan divided her party, led to front bench resignations and talk of a ‘no confidence’ vote, Brussels don’t seem all that keen on it either. As James notes on Coffee House, Michel Barnier appeared to deal it a fatal blow in his joint press conference with Dominic Raab on Thursday. The EU’s chief negotiator made clear that the UK collecting tariffs on behalf of the EU – a key plank of the proposal – was a non-starter:

‘The EU cannot and the EU will not delegate the application of its customs policy and rules and VAT and excises duty collection to a non-member who would not be subject to the EU’s governance structures.’

Brexiteer politicians critical of May’s plans were quick to latch onto Barnier’s comments as proof that Chequers isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

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