THE UK has less than 18 months to wrap up Brexit, the European Commission’s chief negotiator said yesterday.
Stating the European Commission’s plans for the first time, Michel Barnier laid out a strict timetable and said if Theresa May follows through with her plan to trigger Article 50 by the end of March, the deal must be struck by October 2018 in order to complete the withdrawal process by March the following year.
Although the rules allow 24 months for talks, Barnier said this must be cut short to allow the European Council, the European Parliament and the UK to ratify the agreement.
Addressing journalists in Brussels, Barnier said he was building a “small team of 30 people with solid, very solid, expertise in all policies” in readiness for talks.
Discussing the “complex” process, he said: “Time will be short. It is clear that the period of actual negotiations will be shorter than two years.
“All in all, there will be less than 18 months to negotiate.”
Barnier said he and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker are determined to “preserve the unity” of the rest of the EU, naming this as a key priority for entering discussions.
Insisting that the UK must adhere to all four “freedoms” of the single market, including the free movement of workers, he said “cherry picking is not an option” and stated: “Being a member of the European Union comes with rights and benefits. Third countries can never have the same rights and benefits since they are not subject to the same obligations.”
Setting out his position, Barnier said: “We are entering uncharted waters. The work will be legally complex, politically sensitive and will have important consequences for our economies and for our people on both sides of the Channel.”
However, in a statement of intent, he told the UK: “We are ready. Keep calm and negotiate.”
Responding to the comments, Downing Street said it would be “wrong” to put a deadline on talks, stating: “It is our Article 50 as well, because we are members of the EU. The timetable is clear in that.” On a visit to Bahrain yesterday, May dismissed speculation over whether she will pursue a “hard” or “soft” Brexit.
She said: “These terms that have been identified – hard Brexit, soft Brexit, black Brexit, white Brexit, grey Brexit. Actually, I think what we should be looking for is a red, white and blue Brexit.
“That is the right deal for the United Kingdom. What is going to be the relationship for the UK with the European Union once we have left the European Union? That’s what we are about and that’s what we will be working on.”
When asked about “hard” or “soft” Brexit, Barnier, who is 18 stops through a tour of the 27 remaining EU capitals begun in July, said: “Frankly, I don’t know what a hard or a soft Brexit is. I can say what a Brexit is – clear, ordered and we will work within the council’s guidelines.
Responding to the “cherry picking” comment, the Leave EU campaign said: “It’s time for Theresa May to get off the fence and confirm Britain will be leaving the single market. If we do not leave the single market, we have not left the European Union and voters won’t forget a betrayal of that magnitude at a General Election.”
Meanwhile, Tory Eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin compared the EU to a colonial power.
He said: “Many countries have gone independent from their former colonial masters very much more quickly than two years and it should be easy, if we don’t make things impossibly complicated for ourselves, to do this much more quickly.”
Following the press conference, a member of Barnier’s team confirmed that he is willing to hold discussions with the Scottish Government once Article 50 is triggered, but emphasised that these will not include formal negotiations.
Last night Michael Russell, Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, said: “Brexit is by far the biggest threat to Scotland’s jobs, prosperity and economy.
“We will therefore set out proposals in the next few weeks that will keep Scotland in the single market, which is around eight times bigger than the UK market alone, even if the rest of the UK leaves.”
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