'Britain will prosper': Prime Minister Johnson sets out tough terms for EU talks

Prime Minister BorisJohnsonwill layouthis negotiatingtermsfortalkswith theEuropean Union on Monday, saying Britain will prosper even if he cannot strike his preferred trade deal.

After marking Britain's departure from theEUat a party in his Downing Street residence on Friday,Johnsonwill use a speech to ram home his message that Brexit, for him, means that sovereignty trumps the economy.

The sides have until the end of the year, when a standstill transitional period expires, to try to secure a deal on trade and future relations - something London and Brussels both say they want to do but on very differentterms.

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Tradetalkswill begin in March. After criticising his predecessor Theresa May's approach in negotiating a divorce deal with theEU,Johnsonis striking a muchtougher tone, saying Britain will not adhere to the bloc's rules and regulations.

And he will say that if theEUfails to grant a trade deal allowing for tariff- and quota-free trade in goods, similar to thetermsthe bloc now has in place with Canada, Britain will pursue a much looser arrangement, as one Australia has.

"There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve acceptingEUrules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection, the environment, or anything similar, any more than theEUshould be obliged to accept UK rules,"Johnsonwill say, according to excerpts of his speech distributed by his office.

Promising to maintain "the highest standards",Johnsonwill suggest theEUhas already offered a free trade deal along the lines of the one it has with Canada, which does not have to follow the bloc's rules.

"We have made our choice: we want a free trade agreement, similar to Canada's, but in the very unlikely event that we do not succeed, then our trade will have to be based on our existing Withdrawal Agreement with theEU," he will tell businesses, think tanks and ambassadors.

"The choice is emphatically not 'deal or no-deal'.The question is whether we agree with a trading relationship with theEUcomparable to Canada's – or more like Australia's."

At the moment, much ofEU-Australia trade runs along with basic World Trade Organization rules, though there are specific agreements for certain goods. Australia is in the process of negotiating a trade deal with theEU, however.

One British source who declined to be named has said UK negotiators are furious because they believe theEU, Britain's biggest trading partner, is going back on the divorce deal by suggesting that London would have to adhere to the bloc's rules to secure a free trade agreement.

On Sunday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian repeated their fears that Britain could undercut theEUby failing to agree to what the bloc calls a "level playing field" - shorthand for shared rules on environmental standards, labour regulations and state aid.

TheEUhas repeatedly warned Britain that the level of access to its single market of 450 million people will depend on how far London agrees to adhere to such rules.

ButJohnson, according to sources close to him, has taken last year's election, which handed him a large majority in parliament, as an endorsement of his policy of putting Britain's right to set its own rules above the demands of businesses.

Ministers have been briefing companies that they should adjust to such a future despite the appeals of many for the government to ensure goods can trade across borders freely.

More than three years after Britain voted to quit the bloc,Johnson, the face of the campaign to leave, wants to draw a line under an angry debate that has deepened divides across the country.

But he also wants to fulfil his pledge to "take back control" and, in his speech, will suggest that Britain would thrive either with a Canada-style deal or a looser arrangement.

"In either case, I have no doubt that Britain will prosper,"Johnsonwill say. "And of course our new relationship with our closest neighbours will range far beyond trade."