Michel Barnier has told EU politicians that he will prioritise nailing down the fundamentals of a new trade deal with Britain after Brexit and warned of the squeezed timetable to sort out the two sides’ broader future relationship.
The EU’s chief negotiator said that the 11 months from Britain’s planned EU exit on January 31 until the end of its transition period would normally be far too short to negotiate a trade agreement, but that Brussels would strive to have a deal in place for the end of 2020, according to people briefed on the closed-door meeting with MEPs in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
But he also said that the future-relationship talks would have to focus initially on core trading arrangements, such as plans for duty-free, quota-free trade in goods, that could be put in place without needing to wait for ratification by national parliaments throughout the EU.
He also told MEPs that ensuring continued strong co-operation with the UK on security and defence was another top priority for Brussels in the negotiations.
Other issues beyond the scope of the free trade agreement, such as concluding an agreement on road haulage and on aircraft take-off and landing rights, could take longer, Mr Barnier said, with the option for Brussels to take contingency measures to prevent economic disruption if talks were to continue past the end of 2020. [...]
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