Over the months of Brexit, we have been hearing about how Security CANNOT BE REDUCED by Brexit. It cannot be put on the table, it cannot be negotiated, nobody can hold security over the heads of anyone else as this is Dangerous...
Verhofstadt
The European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, responded that MEPs would not accept any attempt by the UK to use its strength in the military and intelligence fields as a bargaining chip
Barnier
By exercising this individual and collective responsibility, we give ourselves every opportunity to strike an ambitious partnership deal with the United Kingdom, not only in terms of trade but also for our security and defence, cooperation between us on police and judicial matters
Juncker
“Since we are not at war with the UK and we do not want to take revenge on the UK, for what the British people have decided, this security alliance, the security bridge between the UK and the EU will be maintained. We still need it,” he said.
However, he insisted that what Britain had to offer on defence and security must not be conflated with “other questions relating to Brexit”.
Juncker
A security partnership between the EU the U.K. after Brexit is “essential,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.
“The fight against terror does not allow us not to work closer together,”
Barnier this week.
I've taken bits out it is quite long. But the gist of it is this...
1) First: effective exchange of information
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Finally, we are open to exchanging information on passengers contained in Passenger Name Records with the UK authorities.
But let's be clear: based on the UK's positions, our cooperation will need to be organised differently. It will rely on effective and reciprocal exchanges, but not on access to EU-only or Schengen-only databases.
2) Second pillar: operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities.
<Snip>
As a consequence of the UK's decision to leave the Union, UK representatives will no longer take part in meetings of Europol and Eurojust management boards.
3) This brings me to our third pillar: judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
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Yet today we know that the UK is not ready to accept the free movement of people, the jurisdiction of the Court and the Charter of Fundamental Rights – for the Charter, this was confirmed last week by the House of Commons.
This means that the UK cannot take part in the European Arrest Warrant.
4) Our fourth pillar concerns measures against money laundering and terrorist financing.
<Snip>
They want to maintain all the benefits of the current relationship, while leaving the EU regulatory, supervision, and application framework. And they try to blame us for the consequences of their choice.
Once again, we will not be drawn into this blame game. It would mean wasting time we don't have.
<Snip>
It is not by chance that I speak about security here, at the EU Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna. With its expertise and analyses, the Agency contributes to putting fundamental rights at the centre of what we are as a Union.
That is not going to change after Brexit.
This means two things.
1) First, our future relationship with the UK will need to be based on strong safeguards on fundamental rights, data protection and dispute settlement.
<Snip>
We want an ambitious partnership with the UK. The content of this partnership depends on the UK's readiness to ensure appropriate safeguards.
You cannot expect Member States to continue cooperating with the UK without these safeguards. These are not bureaucratic issues; this is about the lives and liberties of our citizens.
2) My second point is that the EU at 27 will continue to strengthen its area of justice, freedom and security.
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah
<Snip>
And it is in this spirit that, while respecting its decision to leave the EU, we will propose a strong partnership with the UK, a country with whom we have a common history, a common geography and common challenges.
Let me translate all that BS into one single clear message.
"We demand that you continue to give us your security information without using it to negotiate with us. We will use that security information to make the EU a stronger and safer place. However we will deny you the outcome of the combined results of that data because you dared to leave the EU."
This is a double demand. A demand that we give them something for nothing and a second demand that we get nothing for something.
And you want to negotiate with these people? The reality is that the UK is a source of far greater than 50% of the security information available to the EU (whether UK or other UK alliance sourced). The UK is the second largest guarantor of the physical security of the EU (NATO) and the UK has a relationship with the US, on security, which means the partnership delivers the very largest proportion of security information that the EU relies upon. Note that the UK receives shared security information from the US which is banned from release to the EU; because some states in the EU are "not reliable".
What is written above is the very essence of the whole reason people in the UK voted for Brexit and it is the very reason why the UK will never get a fair, or even half fair, deal from the EU. Not unless the UK starts putting ALL its cards on the table and starts saying "F.U until you start making sense". The only possible viable response to this drivel is that ALL UK security information flows to the EU will cease In April 2019 until the EU negotiate a mutually acceptable reciprocation scheme!
I may be annoyed but I am not, in the very least little bit, even the slightest surprised. I will, also, not be surprised if May does not roll over on this one.
What the EU may not be factoring in is that from April 2019 it will no longer have a true say on what subsequent governments do with the Security relationship. Which is what I'm relying on.
