7,000 deals to be negotiated but not a single one ready

EU warning as Brexit t alks finally begin in Brussels tomorrow . . . AND HERE’S THREE JUST FOR STARTERS

BREXIT talks finally begin tomorrow, with a staggering 7,000 issues to be agreed, it can be revealed.

UK officials have drawn up the huge tally of legal and financial problems that must be solved before Britain leaves the European Union, ranging from citizens’ rights to pet passports, and they are adding to the list every day.

But the EU fears Ministers have still not grasped the scale of the negotiations and believe Theresa May has wasted valuable time in the year since the referendum.

They fear the hung Parliament has made the process more chaotic as it may prevent vital laws being passed, could lead to the DUP demanding changes to the Government’s stance and has led to fresh calls for Brexit to be watered down.

A Brussels insider said civil servants in the UK Permanent Representation to the EU office had already counted ‘over 7,000 issues that need to be addressed’. He said: ‘They are keeping tally and people think of new things every day.’

Britain has still not submitted a single ‘position paper’ on its aims,

‘Theresa May has scored a massive own goal’

although the EU side has, adding to the confusion.

One senior official on the EU side told The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘ All the questions that are now coming back should have been closed and solved a year ago.

‘It’s a layer of uncertainty which is not helpful and the uncertainty will have a drag on the economy.’

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said Britain had ‘lost’ 70 days of valuable negotiating time by holding the Election after triggering Article 50, which began the two-year countdown to our departure.

‘We don’t have the time left to cover all the issues. This will put a huge strain on the negotiations. There’s a clock ticking,’ the insider said. ‘ The magnitude of the job that needs to be done is incredible. I don’t think the political class realises the size of it.

‘They play with words but they mean vastly different things.’ A European Parliament source said: ‘People here don’t know what the hell is going on with the UK. We don’t know if anything is going to change after the Election result.

‘People are worried about Theresa May’s ability to get things through the House of Commons. The general feeling i s they’ve wasted enough time and she has scored a massive own goal.’ A senior EU diplomat added in a jibe at the Prime Minister’s ill-fated Election campaign slogan: ‘ This is not a strong and stable government. We fear a brutal Brexit when the British Government collapses.’

Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, Secretary General of the Council of the EU, said he believed the Government could still change its decision to leave the customs union and single market. He said: ‘That is the sovereign choice of the UK. But it is a choice that has consequences. Whether that position remains unchanged in the coming weeks, months… we have yet to see.

‘ One thing is certain as to the extent of the disruption – the disruption will be greater in the UK than it will be on the EU side.’

The first issues to be discussed by Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels tomorrow are the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and the ‘divorce bill’. Agreements also have to be reached on Britain’s relationship with hundreds of EU bodies.

Last night, a source in the European Commission said: ‘We stand ready to negotiate with the UK. We ha v e be e n ready since June 24, 2016.’

‘The disruption will be greater in the UK’