Britain must stick to fair competition commitments - Luxembourg PM

Britain must stick to the level playing field commitments it made in a political declaration that accompanied the legal Brexit treaty, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on Thursday. Since Britain left the European Union last month, it has refused to heed EU demands for strong and extensive guarantees of fair competition in exchange for access to the bloc's market in a new trade pact the two sides are now negotiating.

Such level playing field provisions were included in a political declaration that accompanied the Brexit deal. While not legally binding, it was agreed by both London and the EU. "We have the political declaration and we must keep the declaration. If we change already what we decided a few weeks or months ago, that might be difficult," Bettel told journalists in Brussels when asked if London was reneging on earlier agreements.