No trade deals until UK divorce talks concluded

THE European Union demanded that Britain make “sufficient progress” on its divorce before talks on a trade deal can start as it laid out its tough Brexit negotiating plans yesterday.

EU president Donald Tusk ruled out an immediate start to parallel talks, as demanded by British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday in her letter triggering the historic twoyear Brexit process.

Tusk’s draft negotiating guidelines add that the other 27 countries are ready for a transitional deal after Britain’s exit in 2019, but that any such arrangement must be under strict EU rules.

Former Polish premier Tusk said it was his “first divorce and I hope the last one”, adding that while he hoped it would not be confrontational the EU would stick to its principles during the talks.

“The EU 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive approach. Brexit itself is already punitive enough,” he told a news conference in the Maltese capital Valletta as he revealed his plans.

The EU is keen to stress its unity as it faces the wrenching departure of one of its biggest members, the first time a country has left the bloc in its 60year history.

Tusk’s guidelines will now be sent out to the leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries, which will suggest changes ahead of a special summit in Brussels to approve the plans on April 29.

The fate of three million EU citizens living in Britain and one million British people within the bloc’s 27 other nations is at the top of leaders’ agenda.

Also looming large is the so-called “exit bill” which Britain will have to pay, estimated to be as much as billion, and the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The EU said that no trade deal can be agreed on before Brexit takes effect.

But it is also open to a transitional arrangement after Brexit as a “bridge” to a future deal some years down the line, but said that it would have to be under EU rules and the European Court of Justice.

May formally notified the EU of Britain’s intention to leave in a letter to Tusk on Monday that diplomats described as surprisingly conciliatory in tone for the most part.

EU leaders hope to resolve the divorce issues by the end of the year before moving on to the future relationship and a possible transition. But that leaves only 10 months before October 2018 when Barnier says the talks must wrap up to give time for the European Parliament and member states to approve what the negotiators come up with. — AFP