Relief for May as EU leaders agree to move Brexit talks to next stage
But Tusk says ‘dramatically difficult’ to hit goal
Theresa May has declared she is “well on the road” to delivering Brexit, after leaders of the 27 remaining member states of the bloc agreed to allow negotiations to proceed to the second phase.
The Prime Minister made clear she wanted talks on post-brexit trade relations with the European Union to begin “straight away”, as the UK continues with its goal of negotiating a deal which can be signed immediately after the official date of departure on 29 March, 2019.
Her target was described as “realistic” but “dramatically difficult” to achieve by the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk.
Mrs May was boosted by the terms of a statement agreed by the EU27 at the European Council summit in Brussels, which left the door open for “exploratory contacts” early in the New Year to allow Brussels to gain greater “clarity” on the UK’S ambitions.
But the formal process is likely to run to a slower timetable, with official EU guidelines for trade talks not due to be approved until March 2018, when European Commission president Jean-claude Juncker said the “real negotiations” would begin.
The EU27 confirmed Brussels’ position that a final trade deal cannot be signed until the UK has formally left. The fourpage document also sets out the process for agreeing the terms of a transition period expected to last two years after the date of Brexit. And it makes clear that the EU expects the UK to observe all of its rules – includingonfreedomofmovement – and accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice during this time.
It also set up a potential clash over Mrs May’s hopes of negotiating early trade agreements with countries outside the EU, stating firmly the UK will stay in the single market and customs union during transition and will “continue to comply with EU trade policy”, which bars deals by individual states.
Speaking in her Maidenhead
“There is still more to dobutwearewellon the road to delivering a Brexit that will make Britain strong, prosperous and secure”