EU open to brief Brexit extension talks

THE EU’s chief Brexit negotiator yesterday opened the door to a brief extension of talks to nail down a deal with London saying that they must be completed “by mid-November.”

Britain is set to leave the bloc on March 30, but the two sides want to strike the divorce agreement by the October 18-19 EU summit to give their parliaments enough time to endorse a deal.

“If we consider the time needed for the ratification of the exit agreement by the British parliament as well as by the European Parliament, then we must conclude the negotiations by mid-November. That is possible,” Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier told Sunday’s edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “We don’t need more time. What we need are political decisions.”

But talks are currently deadlocked on key issues, including how to avoid a hard border between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland, and on the future trading relationship.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would not compromise her plans for Brexit as a media report said rivals in her party were set to publish their own proposal calling for a cleaner break with the EU.

With under two months before Britain and the EU want to agree a deal to end over 40 years of union, May is struggling to sell what she calls her businessfriendly Brexit to her own party and across a divided country. The EU has tentatively welcomed what has become known as the Chequers plan, which is designed to protect cross-border trade, but difficult negotiations lie ahead.

“I will not be pushed into accepting compromises on the Chequers proposals that are not in our national interest,” May wrote in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. May reiterated that Britain would be ready to leave the EU without a deal if the two sides cannot agree on the divorce terms.