May says a new partnership is the prize.
She says she is clear that Britain’s future is bright.
(She is now using a quote pre-briefed about Britain’s “bright” future - see 2.03pm.)
Rolling coverage of Theresa May’s speech in Florence on Brexit, with reaction and analysis
May says a new partnership is the prize.
She says she is clear that Britain’s future is bright.
(She is now using a quote pre-briefed about Britain’s “bright” future - see 2.03pm.)
May says she does not want EU nations to lose out as a result of Brexit during the budget period running up to 2020. Britain would honour its obligations.
May says people and businesses would benefit from a period to adjust to the new arrangements.
A period of implementation would be in our mutual interest, she says.
People should only have to plan for one set of changes.
She says it would remain to be seen how long that would take.
May says it would be helpful to agree this “as early as possible”.
And it should include a double lock: a guarantee that there will be an implementation period, and a guarantee that it will be time limited.
May says this is the vision.
The question is how we get there.
Our relationship with the EU can be developed in new ways, she says.
The UK will cease to be a member of the EU on 29 March 2019. But at that point neither the UK nor the EU will be able to implement the new relationship smoothly.
May says she wants a new treaty with the EU on security and justice.
What she is offering will be “unprecedented in its depth”, she says.
The United Kingdom is unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe’s security.
May says the UK and the EU will need a strong dispute resolution mechanism. It should not be left to the UK courts or the ECJ.
May’s full quote on the ECJ and the rights of EU nationals is now in the post at 2.42pm. You may need to update the page to get it to show up.
May says the EU and the UK have a shared commitment to free trade.
She says she wants to avoid friction at the border.
She says her government wants to protect workers’ rights.
May says she is not pretending that you can have all the advantages of the single market with none of the disadvantages.
But she wants to find a way of holding them in a new balance, she says.
The question is not how we bring regulations closer. The question is what we do when one side wants to make changes.
She says forcing the UK to choose between an EEA-type model or a Canada-type model would be unimaginative. It would not be the best way to proceed.
She says going for the EEA model [the Norway model] would not work. Eventually there would be objections.
But the Canada option would be a significant restriction on our market access, and that would benefit neither economy.
We can do so much better than this.
She says she wants not a model enjoyed by another country, but a “creative” approach leading to something better.
May says she wants EU nationals living in the UK to stay. We value you, she says.
She says one of her goals is to guarantee their rights.
The guarantee she is giving is clear, she says.
She says no one would doubt the value of UK courts. But over time there will be divergence between the rights of UK and EU citizens. She wants UK courts to be able to take into account the judgments of the European court of justice in making decisions on these matters.
I’m clear the guarantee I’m giving on your rights is real, and I doubt anyone with real experience of the UK would doubt the independence of our courts or of the rigour with which they will uphold people’s legal rights.
I want to incorporate our agreement fully into UK law and make sure UK courts can refer directly to it.
When there is uncertainty around underlying EU law, I want the UK courts to be able to take into account the judgment in the European court of justice with a view to ensuring consistent interpretation. On this basis, I hope our teams can reach firm agreement quickly.
(This goes further than what the government has said before. It amounts to a concession to the EU.)
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