May buoyed by EU’s ‘co-operative spirit’
THERESA May has said Britain will enter negotiations on its future relationship with the EU in “a spirit of co-operation”, after leaders of the remaining 27 member states cleared the way for trade talks to begin.
The EU27 opened the door for trade negotiations by endorsing a deal on Britain’s 21-month transition to Brexit and approving guidelines designed to deliver a “balanced, ambitious and wide-ranging” free trade agreement with the UK.
The decision at the European Council summit in Brussels sets the scene for months of intensive talks on trade in goods and services, as well as Britain’s security relationship with the EU after withdrawal.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said it took “less than half a minute” for the guidelines to be approved, in what he said was a demonstration of the “united front of the member states, the 27”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the decision allowed the “regrettable” process of Brexit to proceed, adding that the EU27 “will not allow ourselves to be divided, but will maintain our unity through the trade talks”. Mrs May said she felt there was “a new dynamic” in the talks.
“I believe we are approaching this with a spirit of co-operation, a spirit of opportunity for the future as well, and we will now be sitting down and determining those workable solutions,” she said.
Confirmation of the transition period stretching from Brexit day in March 2019 to the end of December 2020 will provide “certainty” for businesses and individuals, said the Prime Minister.
But the negotiating guidelines agreed in Mrs May’s absence in Brussels include elements certain to spark rancour in the months to come.
A reference to Gibraltar was added to the document at the last minute, in apparent deference to Spain, which has been offered a veto on the future of the British overseas territory by the EU. And the guidelines insist that EU negotiators should seek to maintain “existing reciprocal access” to fishing waters, which is likely to be fiercely resisted on the Conservative backbenches.
The EU document also envisages “ambitious provisions on movement of natural persons, based on full reciprocity and nondiscrimination among member states”.
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said yesterday marked a “decisive” moment in “this difficult, extraordinary negotiation”.
He cautioned that the future partnership negotiated over the coming months “must respect the principles and identity of the EU and the single market”.
Britain believes that moving on to trade talks with the EU will help unblock the logjam over the Irish border and prevent the need to implement a “backstop” solution proposed by Brussels which would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union.
Taioseach Leo Varadkar said that Ireland would seek “an agreement that keeps the UK as close to the EU as possible”.
He said: “That is the best way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and also the best way to protect the enormous trade that occurs between Britain and Ireland.”