‘Negotiating withdrawal

NEGOTIATING Britain’s withdrawal from the EU and a new trade deal with its former partners will be a “Herculean” task which will take years to complete and could drive both sides into “irrational” positions, a former president of the European Council warned yesterday.

While it may be possible to finalise divorce arrangements within the twoyear deadline set out in Article 50 of the EU treaties, the period will be “not nearly enough” to reach a free trade agreement (FTA), warned Herman Van Rompuy, pictured right.

Article 50 talks – due to be triggered next month by Prime Minister Theresa May – will focus on the status of EU and UK ex-pats as well as the “exit bill”, forecast by many in Brussels to total as much as 60bn euro (£51bn), he said.

The remaining EU states should not use the bill to “punish” Britain, or as a “bargaining chip” to secure advantage in later talks on trade, said Mr Van Rompuy.

But he added: “The EU27 cannot reward the leavers, either.”

Speaking at foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House, in London, Mr Van Rompuy played down the prospect of Mrs May achieving her goal of negotiating an FTA within the next two years alongside the withdrawal talks.

Informal talks on the outlines of a trade deal may take place, but the detailed negotiations on sectoral deals will not begin until after the UK has left, he predicted. A transitional period will be needed to cover the negotiation pro-