The first round of UK-EU trade talks ended last week, with negotiators acknowledging there were serious gaps in what both sides wanted. Today, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stressed that she felt an agreement was still possible by the end of the year – but noted the depth of the relationship would be determined by the UK’s position. Her comments came after Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost ruled out any suggestion that the UK would follow EU laws after Brexit, saying this was the entire point of the referendum.

As tensions are set to rise in the next round of talks, scheduled to start on March 18, unearthed reports shed some light on Mr Frost – the man who will ultimately do the most to shape Britain’s future outside the EU.

Mr Frost spent most of his earlier professional career as a British diplomat and appears to have had a lot of experience in dealing with EU affairs.

In 2013, he left politics to become CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).

It was during his time as chief executive that he reportedly urged Scotland to remain part of the UK – as he believed that even a “temporary interruption” of EU membership would have been detrimental to his business.

At the time, the presidents of the European Commission and European Council had rejected the SNP’s claims an independent Scotland would have been fast-tracked into the bloc.

They had warned Holyrood would have had to apply from scratch and the process would have been difficult.

In a 2014 Sunday Times report, Mr Frost questioned the impact on producers if a separate Scotland did not start life in the EU straight away.

He also expressed major reservations about the stability of the Scottish economy, uncertainty over the currency and warnings that having a separate tax regime and regulatory framework would have increased costs to business.

Although Mr Frost did not formally oppose independence, he said the industry’s success was “not the result of chance” and that the ramifications of leaving the UK were “huge”.

He told the publication: “It has come about because of a wide range of factors which have been well provided for us within the United Kingdom and would need to be similarly provided in future if it were to be within an independent Scotland.

JUST IN: Peer claims Boris Johnson WILL allow Indyref2 – but there’s a catch

“We look for reassurance on how an independent Scotland could deliver a business, regulatory and export environment at least as supportive as that which the industry currently enjoys.”

He warned that even a “temporary interruption” of EU membership would have been damaging to the industry.

He pointed out the Scotch whisky brand was protected in EU law, it could be exported tariff-free across the European single market and the industry benefited from the EU’s “clout” in trade negotiations.

Despite Mr Frost’s pro-EU comments, former Ukip MP Douglas Carswell told Express.co.uk that the former ambassador has exactly what it takes to deliver a successful Brexit.

He said: “I met David Frost as a new MP when I happened to go to Denmark on a Select Committee trip in 2010.

DON’T MISS:
Carswell reveals what EU and UK will be REALLY negotiating [EXCLUSIVE]
How Macron’s plan to dethrone London could be boosted by Joe Biden [INSIGHT]
Why David Frost masterplan is what May should have done all along [ANALYSIS]

“He was the ambassador in Copenhagen.

“I met this extraordinary man – who was the first and one of the only British officials who was clearly eurosceptic.

“He understood intellectually why Britain should be outside Europe.”

Referring to a lecture the special adviser made at Brussels’ ULB university in February, the prominent Brexiteer added: “His speech was spot on – a brilliant understanding of history.

“The reason why I became a eurosceptic is because I read a book about history and it showed that the reason why Europe was the number one centre of civilisation and innovation was because it didn’t have centralised control, like China or India.

“David Frost clearly understands the intellectual origins and rationale of euroscepticism.

“I was very impressed with his lecture and I was very impressed when I met him ten years ago.

“I think he’s doing a fantastic job and that he will do a fantastic job.”

Source: Read Full Article