Interesting comments from Leo Varadkher
www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/21/johnson-dances-around-varadkar-claims-he-is-on-hard-brexit-path
"The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, warned that Johnson was embarking on a “harder Brexit than we anticipated” and said he feared the UK wanted to “undercut” its European rivals on food, health and product safety after leaving the bloc.
Johnson was asked about the taoiseach’s comments while visiting British troops in Estonia on Saturday, but would only say: “What everybody wants to do is put Brexit behind us on January 31 and move on, and there’s a lot of goodwill and a lot of energy now about building the new deep and special partnership, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
It comes as Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said Britain must adhere to EU rules after Brexit in order to secure a trade deal and prevent a “race to the bottom”.
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He said its main objectives are to agree common social and environmental standards.
Johnson has insisted there would be “no alignment” with EU rules under the terms of a trade deal he wants to strike with the bloc after his withdrawal act bill was passed through the House of Commons on Friday.
Barnier also said it would be “immensely challenging” to conclude a trade agreement by the deadline of the end of next year.
In an article for the Project Syndicate website, Barnier said the EU would seek to make the most of the short time available “but like the UK, we will keep our strategic interests in mind”.
“We know that competing on social and environmental standards – rather than on skills, innovation, and quality – leads only to a race to the bottom that puts workers, consumers, and the planet on the losing side.
“Thus, any free-trade agreement must provide for a level playing field on standards, state aid, and tax matters.”"