20 July 2017

The Guardian: Cabinet accepts Brexit transition will mean years of free movement

[...]soft Brexiteers in the cabinet are now confident they have achieved a consensus about an “off the shelf” transition deal.

The claim that a collective view has been reached comes after weeks of a brutal briefing war over competing visions of Brexit since the general election wiped out Theresa May’s majority, culminating in the prime minister’s admonition this week that there is “no such thing as an unsackable minister”, and sowing confusion in Brussels about the reliability of the British negotiating position.

But as David Davis concluded Brexit talks in Brussels on Thursday, the senior cabinet source told the Guardian that the mood has shifted significantly and that ministers now hoped to agree a deal as soon as possible to give certainty to British business.

“If you ask business when they want to see it agreed, they’d say tomorrow,” the source said, adding that such a deal could last between two and four years and could be expected to involve continued free movement of people. The source felt the most likely scenario was a deal lasting three years.

He said Britain still needed to clarify its offer, including on the exit bill. “As I said very clearly to David, a clarification of the UK’s position is indispensable for us to negotiate and for us to make sufficient progress on this financial dossier, which is inseparable from the other withdrawal dossiers.” [...]

The high stakes of the talks were emphasised by the news that British people living in the EU could lose their right to move between member states after Brexit unless Britain made a reciprocal offer. A UK source close to the negotiations said that there was agreement on about 50% of citizens’ rights issues but said there were still “significant gaps” in the EU’s offer.

While Davis was in Brussels, May was hosting business leaders in Downing Street to hear their concerns about Brexit, in the latest sign that the government is keener to listen since the general election.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister reiterated that the government’s overarching goal is for a smooth, orderly exit culminating in a comprehensive free trade deal with the EU, with a period of implementation in order to avoid any cliff-edges.” [...]

Full article on The Guardian

© The Guardian