EU Chief says Britain must play by its competition rules or face tariffs

The European Union has said that competition is the biggest block to Brexit deal. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen named competition as the biggest stumbling block to a trade deal with Britain, and warned London it will have to play by the EU’s rules or accept the price of tariffs. He said during an OECD event “What is essential now to finalise the one and only important question, that is if the UK wants a seamless access to the (EU) single market”.

“They are welcome. But they either have to play by our rules, because this is a matter of fairness for our companies in the single market” or put up with tariffs,” she added. Some of the EU rules have to do with the ones on cartels, market dominance, mergers and state aid, how to report anti-competitive behaviour. Some others are on antitrust policy in the EU, procedures in anticompetitive case, procedures in abuse of dominance case.