Britain, EU to start historic Brexit talks

BRUSSELS(AFP) – Britain starts formal talks to leave the EU on Monday, seeking a deal ''like no other in history'' despite entering fiendishly difficult negotiations with a badly weakened government.

A year after Britain's seismic referendum, Brexit minister David Davis and the European Union's French chief negotiator Michel Barnier will meet at the European Commission in Brussels.

At stake in hugely complex talks that are expected to conclude by March, 2019 is not just Britain's future but a western political order that would be badly shaken by a failure to reach a deal.

But the situation is very different from 12 months ago when the Brexiteers were riding high, with Prime Minister Theresa May's entire approach called into question after a disastrous election performance on June 8.

''While there is a long road ahead, our destination is clear – a deep and special partnership between the UK and the EU. A deal like no other in history,'' Davis said in a statement as he headed into the talks.

''I look forward to beginning work on that new future.''

Britain already appears to have capitulated to the EU's insistence that talks first focus on three key divorce issues, before moving onto the future EU-UK relationship and a possible trade deal.

Those issues are Britain's exit bill, estimated by Brussels at around 100 billion euros ($112 billion), the rights of three million EU nationals living in Britain and one million Britons on the continent, and the status of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

''Sitting down for a first formal negotiation round is something in and of itself,'' an EU source told AFP.