EU's Brexit negotiator puts time pressure on Britain
by Associated Press
BRUSSELSDec 08, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Associated Press
Dec 08, 2016 12:00 am
Britain may not have two years to negotiate its divorce from the European Union after all. The EU's chief negotiator on Brexit warned Tuesday that the country will have less than 18 months once talks begin and that it won't be allowed to pick and choose what parts of the EU it wants to keep.
The British government, meanwhile, agreed for the first time to publish details of its plans for Brexit before formal talks start — though how much detail it would disclose remained an open question.
While steering away from specifics on what a Brexit deal might look like, EU negotiator Michel Barnier, who took up his post months ago after Britain voted in June to leave the EU, said formal procedures at the start and end of the talks will cut into the time Britain has to leave.
"Time will be short," he said. "All in all there will be less than 18 months to negotiate."
British Prime Minister Theresa May wants to invoke Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, which will officially kick off two years of exit talks, by the end of March.
But Barnier, who has visited 18 of the EU's 28 member states to gauge views on Britain's withdrawal, warned that the effective negotiating time will be less due to procedures such as parliamentary approvals to rubber-stamp any deal.
If May sticks to her timetable, Barnier said an agreement may have to be secured by October 2018 to get a final agreement in place by March 2019 — two years on from the triggering of Article 50.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appeared unconcerned by such a deadline. "That timeframe seems to me to be absolutely ample," he said on arriving for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
It's a fluid situation, not least because a British court ruled last month that Parliament needs to give its approval before the government can trigger Article 50.
The government is contesting that ruling in the Supreme Court. Should it confirm Parliament's involvement, May's plans could be delayed. It's also possible that European governments might extend the two-year period outlined within Article 50.
It's also possible that European governments might extend the two-year period outlined within Article 50.
The British government has been reluctant to reveal much about what sort of post-Brexit relationship it is looking for out of fear that it would weaken its hand in negotiations. That has fueled allegations from opponents that May and her ministers lack a coherent Brexit strategy. Opposition Labor Party lawmakers forced a Wednesday debate in Britain's House of Commons, calling for the government to offer some clarity by publishing its plan for leaving the EU before it triggers Article 50. Fearing defeat at the hands of the opposition and rebellious pro-EU Conservatives, the government agreed late Tuesday.
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