Boris Johnson will RULE OUT accepting EU regulations as the price for any trade deal as he lays out terms for Canada-style agreement today

• e-mail

Boris Johnson will today rule out accepting Brussels regulations as he squares up to the European Union over a trade deal.

Setting out his vision for the country's post-Brexit relationship, the Prime Minister will tell EU leaders he wants a Canada-style free trade agreement.

But in a tough-talking speech, he will warn they must drop demands that the UK sticks to their regulations as the price of a deal.

If the leaders refuse to back down, Mr Johnson will say he would rather accept trade tariffs than EU rules and would instead follow Australia's trading relationship with the EU, which is based on World Trade Organisation terms. 'In either case, I have no doubt that Britain will prosper,' the Prime Minister will say.

Boris Johnson will today rule out accepting Brussels regulations as he squares up to the European Union over a trade deal

His speech, which he will deliver to an audience of business leaders and ambassadors in London, comes as the EU will also unveil its guidelines for Brexit talks.

The two sides are set on a collision course as the EU insists that any deal is dependent on the UK signing up to a 'level playing field' on regulations and rules, which would effectively stop British businesses being able to undercut those on the continent. 

But the Prime Minister will argue no other country which has a trade deal with the EU has been forced to sign up to such obligations.

He will say: 'There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection, the environment or anything similar, any more than the EU should be obliged to accept UK rules.

'The UK will maintain the highest standards in these areas – better, in many respects, than those of the EU – without the compulsion of a treaty and it is vital to stress this now.'

Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, yesterday insisted the extra protections were needed as the UK is geographically closer to the EU than Canada and does a much larger volume of trade

He will add: 'We have often been told that we must choose between full access to the EU market, along with accepting its rules and courts on the Norway model, or an ambitious free trade agreement, which opens up markets and avoids the full panoply of EU regulation, on the example of Canada. We have made our choice: we want a free trade agreement, similar to Canada's.' 

In the 'very unlikely event' that talks do not succeed, Mr Johnson will say in his speech he will seek a much looser arrangement. 'The choice is emphatically not 'deal or no deal'. 

The question is whether we agree a trading relationship with the EU comparable to Canada's – or more like Australia's,' he will insist. 'In either case, I have no doubt that Britain will prosper.'

Mr Johnson will say 'our new relationship with our closest neighbours will range far beyond trade'. 'We will seek a pragmatic agreement on security, protecting our citizens without trespassing on the autonomy of our respective legal systems,' he will announce.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, yesterday insisted the extra protections were needed as the UK is geographically closer to the EU than Canada and does a much larger volume of trade. 

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr show yesterday: 'You're geographically part of the European continent, we share seas, we share airspace and our economies are very integrated.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said any suggestion the UK will have to follow EU rules and laws after 2021 'just ain't happening'

'One thing that we feel very strongly in the European Union is that if we're going to have tariff-free, quota-free trade with the UK... then that needs to come with a level playing field. We would have very strong views on fair competition and state aid.'

But Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said any suggestion the UK will have to follow EU rules and laws after 2021 'just ain't happening'. He told Marr that staying tied to EU regulations 'obviously defeats the point of Brexit'.

Mr Johnson has vowed to negotiate a trade deal with the EU by the end of this year so there is no need to extend the transition period beyond December.

Some EU figures have questioned whether the fast-track timetable is realistic, but former European Council president Donald Tusk yesterday said he believed it would be possible. He told Marr: 'One year is enough to finalise our negotiations.'

Give Brussels fishing rights for 25 years? Codswallop! Britain to reject EU demands for deal that would allow foreign trawlers access to our waters until 2045

Britain is to reject EU demands for a deal on fishing that would give foreign trawlers access to our waters for 25 years.

Instead, France and other European nations will have to request access annually, with quotas negotiated each year.

The UK has some of the richest fishing grounds in the world, but British vessels land less than a third – 32 per cent – of the total catch. EU boats take 43 per cent, while the Norwegians catch 21 per cent.

At the end of the transition period in December, the country will leave the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, which dictates how much British trawlers can catch and where. Fishermen complain they do not get a fair share of what is caught in UK waters.

The Fisheries Bill going through Parliament will end the automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters, with access to fisheries set to be a matter for the UK to negotiate.

Ministers see Norway as a model. It holds annual negotiations with the EU on access to waters, management of shared stocks and exchanges of quota rights. The political declaration on future relations agreed by Boris Johnson and EU leaders last year states fishing rights must be ratified by July.