Michel Barnier has admitted he is “worried” that the Brexit trade negotiations could fail after Boris Johnson set an October 15 no deal deadline for the talks. The EU’s chief negotiator accused Britain of trying to get “the best of both worlds” but warned that there would not be an agreement “to the detriment of the Single Market”. "If there is no free trade agreement, the UK will fall back on traditional and customary WTO rules. There will be customs tariffs for products that we export to the UK and we will impose tariffs on products we import from the UK," Mr Barnier said. Mr Barnier was asked about on reports that Mr Johnson planned to use the internal market bill, due to be published on Wednesday, to renege on provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement. He said honouring the Withdrawal Agreement was "a pre-condition for confidence between us because everything that has been signed in the past must be respected". If the bill does undermine commitments made in the Brexit divorce treaty, it will make it extremely difficult politically for Mr Barnier to offer the UK any concessions in the trade negotiations. Ministers have denied the Government plans to tear up the treaty. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, tweeted, "I trust the British government to implement the Withdrawal Agreement, an obligation under international law and prerequisite for any future partnership. "[The] Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland is essential to protect peace and stability on the island and the integrity of the Single Market." Mr Barnier accused Brexiteers such as Nigel Farage of plotting to destroy the EU, ahead of this week’s round of trade negotiations in London. “There are people who do not wish us well, who want to destroy us. Mr Farage and his friends,” he said. Mr Barnier told French radio that the EU would not sign any trade deal, unless there was an agreement granting EU boats access to UK fishing waters after Brexit, before talks with UK negotiator David Frost this evening. “Excluding European fishermen is not acceptable to us,” he said. Mr Johnson is expected to say later today, "The EU have been very clear about the timetable. I am too. There needs to be an agreement with our European friends by the time of the European Council on October 15 if it's going to be in force by the end of the year. "If we can't agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on." The EU has already set a deadline of the end of October for the trade deal to be finalised, so there is enough time to ratify it before the end of the year, when the UK will leave the transition period. Failure to agree the trade deal will mean both sides trading on WTO terms, which, unlike the proposed agreement, will mean tariffs and quotas on goods. An EU diplomat said that a no deal outcome would make the UK the only country in the world without any agreement with the bloc. The source said leaving of deadlocked issues such as the UK’;s future state aid regime and fishing rights to last risked an accidental no deal. “Boris Johnson said he wanted to put a ‘tiger in the tank’ of the negotiations. It looks like the tiger in the tank has shrivelled into a salted slug,” said an EU diplomat. “There is still time to put a deal in the offing but at this moment it certainly doesn’t looks like it should be ready in time. If the UK no longer sees the merit in a deal, that would be unfortunate. It would make Britain the only country in this part of the world that doesn’t have a relationship with the EU in one form or another.” “But If it does, and we certainly hope so, the British government should realise that in this case it better not leave the difficult questions till last. They require time to solve. Only when these are solved will the rest of the deal fall into place” "We are working hard to reach a deal with the UK We will do everything in our power to reach a deal," an EU official said. MEPs in Brussels attacked Mr Johnson. Philippe Lamberts, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Committee said the UK would be “a rogue state” if it reneged on the Withdrawal Agreement. Manfred Weber, the leader of the largest political group in the parliament, tweeted, “Prime Minister, there is no such thing as a good outcome in Brexit. “Instead of taking Northern Ireland hostage again, it would be better that you keep your word and stand by the Withdrawal Agreement. Can we trust you keep your word?".
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