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12 June 2017

Financial Times: No time to waste in Brexit talks, Michel Barnier warns UK


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Britain risks crashing out of the EU in March 2019 without a deal on future relations if it “wastes” more of the limited time available for Brexit talks, the union’s chief negotiator has warned.


With Westminster still grappling with the uncertainty of a hung parliament, Michel Barnier urged London to start talks “very quickly” and appoint a negotiating team that is “stable, accountable and with a mandate”.

“Next week, it will be three months after the sending of the Article 50 letter,” he said, referring to the notification of withdrawal talks lasting two years. “We haven’t negotiated, we haven’t progressed. Thus we must begin this negotiation. We are ready as soon as the UK itself is ready.”

Mr Barnier made the plea for urgency in an interview with the Financial Times and a group of European newspapers, his first since being appointed by the EU’s other 27 member states. It came on a day when Britain delayed the Queen’s Speech to allow for a government to be formed.

“My preoccupation is that time is passing, it is passing quicker than anyone believes because the subjects we have to deal with are extraordinarily complex,” he added. “I can’t negotiate with myself.” [...]

“I don’t know what hard Brexit or soft Brexit means. I read yesterday ‘Open Brexit’ too! Brexit is withdrawal from the EU — it’s the UK’s decision. We’re implementing it,” he said.

“I’ll say it clearly: there’s no spirit of revenge, no punishment, no naivety either. And there is truth. Truth on what Brexit means, what leaving the EU signifies by its consequences. The citizens have the right to know this truth.” In Britain, he added, “lots of people underestimated these consequences. Lots of people.” [...]

Asked whether wasting time on the divorce terms could endanger the agreement on a future relationship, Mr Barnier replied: “That is what we call sequencing.

“But this sequencing — it’s non-negotiable for us — was not created, wanted, in order to create problems. It was designed in order to resolve problems,” he added, stressing that the divorce was complex and “we need trust to build a future relationship”.

For all the tough talk on the EU side, Mr Barnier is alive to the need for compromise to reach a fair deal, especially on legacy issues.

He is quick to point out that “sufficient progress” on the withdrawal will cover “the principles” of a deal on citizens and money, rather than the full details.

The EU is open to all models of future relations. “Every one of these options and models has its own balance, in terms of rights and obligations,” he said. “The UK government knows the rules, the conditions for each one of its options. We’re preparing for all options — including that of a ‘no deal’.”  [...]

Full article on Financial Times (subscription required)



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