MNI EXCLUSIVE: UK/EU Talks Could Implode If Johnson Breaks WA

Talks between the UK and the EU on a free trade deal could collapse immediately if London proceeds with reported plans for legislation which would undermine the Withdrawal Agreement signed with Brussels last year, EU officials told MNI.

One Brussels-based official said he could scarcely believe that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would risk such a move, speculating that it could only be a 'scaremongering' tactic ahead of the new round of free-trade talks this week.

"It's a non-starter," the source said. "If the UK already breaks international law, there is no way for an FTA. Trust will be out of the window. And not only for EU - -who would ever trust UK to uphold anything. I think it's some weird scaremongering. So self-harming that it cannot be true."

Another source with knowledge of the matter took a more circumspect line, saying officials in Brussels should wait for the details of any UK move to be published, although noting that "the EU will expect the UK to honour its international obligations of course."

"There's a dispute settlement mechanism in the Withdrawal Agreement. But let's not get overexcited just yet...," the source added.

The UK government's Internal Markets Bill is due to be published on Wednesday.