EU chief Brexit negotiator too tough on UK, say EU diplomats

Diplomats from several EU member states are skeptical as to whether Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, is handling the situation well, hinting that the terms he proposes to Britain are too tough and that hardly "anyone" could be expected to accept them, fearing that the British will eventually "walk away and then see how the EU does without the money," reported by The Telegraph.

According to a Whitehall source, certain French dignitaries had expressed anger towards the "lack of consultation" when it came to a draft document published by Barnier last week, which included punishment clauses should the UK fail to follow through with the EU's demands.

Figures from Nordic and Eastern European countries were also skeptical of Barnier's very tough negotiating policy, fearing as well that the UK may just walk out.

The disclosures to The Telegraph came after Prime Minister Theresa May gave her Brexit "War Cabinet" a little over three weeks to reach an agreement for an outline plan regarding the country's "future partnership" with the European Union.

The prime minister has also said that she will be giving another speech in which she said she will yet again clarifying her cabinet's position on Brexit as well as an outline on how to proceed forward with Brussels.

Prime Minister May's speech will be the last in a series of addresses by her committee members, which intended to put forth a "unity of purpose" regarding Brexit.

Barnier's unveiling of his new tough demands, and especially the punishment clause, is said by one EU diplomat to be his response to May's staunch opposition that Britain remain in the Customs Union after Brexit.

Another EU diplomat said: "Could anyone accept these terms? If I was Britain I would be tempted to say ‘no' – walk away, and then see how the EU does without the money."

Feelings seem to be mutual within some political circles in the United Kingdom as well, where one British Member of Parliament, the increasingly popular Jacob Rees-Mogg of the Conservatives, barraged Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Davis over the transition period.

If in 2019, Rees-Mogg said, "The UK is subject to the European Court of Justice, takes new rules relating to the single market and is paying into the European budget … are we not a vassal state?"

He then pointed out that Britain has representatives in these European institutions right now.

"It is hard to think of any precedent in the world when any independent nation has taken the judgments of a foreign court as the superior and immediate law without having any judge on that court."

After some back-and-forth, Davis conceded that Rees-Mogg's point would stand if that were the case "in perpetuity," but as things stand, "We haven't decided quite how we're going to manage those elements."