The Brussels bureaucrat told an audience of Irish ambassadors in Dublin that Britain’s decision to quit the bloc still “baffles” him. He said: “This move still baffles me because the full consequences of that decision are still not understood in the United Kingdom.  “Why would they trade a Rolls Royce, which would be very familiar to the UK, for a second-hand saloon.”

The bloc’s trade commissioner also set out his demands for the future relationship talks, which are expected to start after Britain leaves on January 31.

He insisted that Boris Johnson would have to sign up to a number of significant “level playing field” guarantees – on state aid, labour laws, environmental standards and taxation – in order to negotiate access to the EU’s single market.

Mr Hogan said: “Prime Minister Johnson said he wants a best in class free trade agreement.

“And from our side in the EU, as Michel Barnier has pointed out, best in class means a trade agreement that is not just about economic and financial gains, zero tariffs zero quotas but is also an agreement which is the interest of our people, their environment, respect for the rights and respectful of their quality of life.

“So, we will therefore require solid guarantees of a level playing field in relation to state aid, labour laws, environmental protections and taxation arrangements. None of us is under any illusion about how difficult this part of the negotiations will be.”

Mr Hogan has been an outspoken critic of Brexit since the EU referendum was held in June 2016.

He reaffirmed his criticism of Mr Johnson’s ambitious pledge to deliver a trade deal in an 11-month timetable to avoid having to extend the transition period, under which keeps Britain tied to the EU’s rulebook.

Mr Hogan called for a “more common sense approach” when the Prime Minister meets EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

“I heard the British Prime Minister say in 2019 a lot of things that ultimately he didn’t do and I am taking that precedent as an opportunity not to get too worried in the initial phase of these negotiations,” he said.

“President von der Leyen will be visiting the UK on Wednesday and will be making these particular issues clear to the UK Prime Minister and we hope that the UK Prime Minister, based on being fully informed about the implications of all of those statements he is making, will be able to have a more common-sense approach and pragmatic solutions to many of the issues we are trying to negotiate with him. And that nobody will die in the ditch.”

He added that Mr Johnson’s timetable is being taken “seriously based on the reality between now and the end of June that we do need to ensure that the UK and the EU understand each other well, understand the implications of what we’re saying to each other”.

During a recent interview with the Irish Times newspaper, the eurocrat questioned whether the Prime Minister would U-turn on his public pledge not to extend.

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“We saw the way the prime minister promised to die in the ditch rather than extend the deadline for Brexit, only for him to do just that,” Mr Hogan said.

“I don’t believe Prime Minister Johnson will die in the ditch over the timeline for the future relationship either.”

Ms von der Leyen last month said she has “serious concern” over the plan to negotiate an EU-UK trade deal within Mr Johnson’s 11-month timetable.

She told the French newspaper Les Echos: “It seems to me that on both sides we must ask ourselves serious if all these negotiations are feasible in such a short time.”

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And today the European Commission has raised doubts that the bloc will be ready to kickstart negotiations on February 1 as officials wait to secure an agreement for their official mandate.

Ms von der Leyen’s chief spokesman said: “I don’t think we said the mandate would come out on February 1 precisely,” he said.

“We said our proposal for a mandate would be issued as soon as the United Kingdom had left the EU, which is foreseen for the last day of January.

“This draft mandate has to be approved by Council before negotiations can begin. I don’t have a specific date.”

The Commission and European Council have scheduled a series of secret meetings between January 8 and January 29 in order to hammer out the details of the mandate.

“In order to launch trade negotiations, the EU needs a formal mandate and this formal mandate needs to be approved by the Council,” the spokesman added.

“We are not there yet.”

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