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Big beasts in Brussels have regularly tied national parliaments in regulatory knots since the bloc’s formation more than 60 years ago, when the Treaty of Rome established the European
Economic Community. And the famously faceless bureaucrats have drawn up countless treaties to hand themselves a growing list of powers over the living standards of citizens in its member
states – governing almost every aspect of their lives from food standards to your home’s humble vacuum cleaner. You might just remember this classic from 2011: Regulation 2257/94, the
so-called “bendy banana” ruling that seeks to ensure all bananas sold within the EU are “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. But underneath the madness, there are a series of
Brussels-imposed laws that are quite sensible and are likely to be kept, or even improved, under Boris Johnson’s premiership. During his “People’s PMQs” session broadcast from Downing Street
on Facebook, the Prime Minister said: “We’re going to set benchmarks for high standards in the UK and around the world, and I believe that will be a good basis to do a free-trade deal.”
Nonetheless, eurocrats have got it in their heads that the UK is going to slash and burn its cherished environmental, food and labour standards. This fear has found its way into the Brexit
negotiations, developing a new demand for so-called “zero dumping” if there is to be a trade agreement with zero tariffs and zero quotas. The demands would essentially keep Britain in
lockstep with other EU member states in areas such as taxation, workers’ rights and environmental standards in order to knock down key barriers to frictionless trade. Which sounds very much
like Britain as a ruletaker. But why is it the EU puppet masters believe that UK citizens are about to suddenly accept a collapse in their country’s standards – especially when they are
already considered gold-plated on the world scene? The answer is obvious – they fear that a Britain free from the unnecessary regulatory constraints and the burden of bureaucracy would
become a terrifying economic competitor on the EU’s doorstep. “UK businesses cannot outcompete their EU rivals through deregulation,” the bloc argues. Often referred to “Singapore on
Thames”, the concept that a Westminster government could be able to adopt rapid regulatory framework changes to create a friendlier environment for manufacturers, software developers or even
bankers. Such a post-Brexit strategy would represent a massive shift from the membership of the EU’s rigid, over-regulated single market and Eurozone. MUST READ: DAVID DAVIS EXPOSES WHY EU
WILL GIVE THE UK THE BEST BREXIT TRADE DEAL It’s this attitude and idea that has given birth to the so-called “level playing field”, which asks the UK to commit to maintaining its state aid,
tax, employment standards and environmental protections. But it’s not Brussels’ sudden desire to fight climate change or protect workers’ right that drives their negotiating position, it’s
a genuine fear that by scrapping cumbersome regulations Britain will become Europe’s premier economic destination. EU diplomats are under no illusion that Britain’s food or environmental
standards will slip overnight, it’s how the country’s gold-plated rules will be implemented that is giving negotiators sleepless nights.