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| - The European Union expects even tougher talks with Britain about future relations than the ones that eventually led to their amicable divorce, a top Brussels negotiator said Wednesday. Stefaan de Rynck, a senior adviser to chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, said Brussels understood London's desire to seize back control of its economy after Brexit. Britain formally ended its 47-year membership of the EU on January 31, nearly four years after a majority voted to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum. But de Rynck said London must still follow some EU rules and regulation if it wants to secure a new trade agreement by the time the post-Brexit transition period shuts on December 31. The European Union -- the world's largest single market -- is Britain's main trading partner, although its dominant role in the UK economy is gradually being challenged by fast-growing countries such as China. "We expect some of the negotiations to be rather difficult, perhaps more difficult than during the withdrawal," de Rynck told an audience at the London School of Economics. "The legal field that needs to be agreed is also bigger." London and Brussels are preparing to thrash out a trade deal this year, when EU rules remain in place. But a tough fight is expected on agreeing terms on everything from fishing quotas and financial service regulations to security cooperation and data protection rules. De Rynck's speech was widely seen as a response to the one Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost gave in Brussels on Monday. Frost announced that Britain's desire to strip itself of EU rules and regulations was not just a negotiating position that could soften with time but "the point of the whole (Brexit) project". De Rynck said Brussels understood "that divergence seems to be the essence of Brexit. I think we all agree on that." He said the UK will be able to import goods that do not meet EU standards and have some degree of divergence in various fields. But he added: "We are not talking about those issues. That is not contested." Instead, the European Union wants to make sure that competition is "open and fair", and is regulated and enforced "going forward into the future", de Rynck said. "It is not a rejection of competition but it is also clear that such competition (must) ultimately serve sustainable development." Brussels wants to keep London closely tied to its rules because of the size and proximity of Britain's market, and the "unfair" competition it could bring should it pursue deregulations. EU officials will try to agree Barnier's negotiating mandate on Wednesday and ratify it next week so that formal talks can start in early March. London has until the end of June to ask for a deadline extension should the talks fail to make any headway in the coming months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out asking for more time, a stance that raises the prospects of only a bare-bones deal being reached that might be expanded over time. "Whatever the outcome in 2020, change is going to come for goods, for services -- there will be no business as usual," de Rynck said. zak/phz/klm
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