EU to lay out Brexit response, set negotiating priorities

[webfact]

EU to lay out Brexit response, set negotiating priorities

By Alastair Macdonald and Robin Emmott

REUTERS

 

Larry the the Downing street cat sits outside number 10 after Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May left to announce that she is triggering the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, in London. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

 

BRUSSELS/VALLETTA (Reuters) - The European Union will tell Britain on Friday how it aims to negotiate its "orderly withdrawal" from the bloc, limit uncertainties for businesses and pave the way for a close future partnership.

 

Donald Tusk, who chairs the European Council, will send leaders of the other 27 member states his proposed negotiating guidelines for Brexit talks before presenting the main principles in Malta two days after British Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggered the two-year withdrawal process.

 

Tusk will speak around 9:45 a.m. (0745 GMT), alongside the Maltese premier Joseph Muscat whose government holds the bloc's rotating presidency. Shortly beforehand, EU envoys from the 27 governments will meet in Brussels to study the draft guidelines.

 

Once endorsed by leaders at a summit on April 29, these will pave the way for talks which the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier expects to start in about two months.

 

Diplomats say they will reflect the 27's previous insistence on a "balance of rights and obligations" -- notably that Britain will have less access to EU markets if it opts out of the bloc's system of centralised rules and common budget contributions.

 

In December, the leaders agreed: "In the future, we hope to have the UK as a close partner of the EU."

 

After May wrote to Tusk on Wednesday to confirm Britain's departure, they issued a statement saying: "The Union will act as one and preserve its interests. Our first priority will be to minimise the uncertainty caused by the decision of the United Kingdom for our citizens, businesses and member states."

 

The negotiations will be among the most complex international talks ever undertaken.

 

Businesses big and small are unsure how they will trade across the new EU-U.K. frontier and some three million EU expatriates in Britain and a million or so British expatriates are unsure of their residence rights.

 

Barnier has said tackling those uncertainties will be his top priority, along with ensuring Britain pays what Brussels argues it owes as a share of commitments made by the EU but not yet funded -- maybe of the order of 60 billion euros. May says Britain will fulfil its obligations.

 

British officials will pay close attention to what Tusk says about launching talks on a free trade deal during the two years, before the Brexit settlement is final.

 

May said she wants those to start "alongside" those on the withdrawal treaty while the EU's official line is that it wants to hold off until divorce terms are clear.

 

Also under scrutiny will be what Tusk says on the terms of a transition period, on the assumption a free trade pact cannot be concluded for some years after 2019.

 

May wants to show Brexit supporters ahead of an election in 2020 that Britain has truly left the bloc. But the continentals may insist that if Britain retains some rights of membership during the transition, it continue to be subject to the kind of budget payments and legal oversight that irk many Britons.

 

(Writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Richard Lough)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-31

[the guest]

I think the EU members made it quite clear that UK cannot have 'carte blanche' on the foundation to which the EU stands for.  Nor will it concede to the UK as it would like, in fear of deterring others who may be thinking of having their own referendum. 27 countries against 1 is going to be a hard sell. One wonders if the outcome will be satisfactory, or whether it will be a total 'hard' Brexit ?

[dick dasterdly]

We already know the EU's priorities - namely pursuing money 'owed' for their pensions etc.  Only once this has been agreed can talks about trade 'begin' .  I'm laughing as it seems unlikely that big business in Europe haven't already started talking to both the EU and the UK.

 

Regardless of the rights and wrongs in the EU's definition of UK liabilities, hopefully the UK's share of EU assets will more than cover the liabilities that are continually stressed by the EU.

 

Another poster pointed out on a different thread that we're unlikely to hear anything other than political/media spin for a year or so.

 

Given everything that's been spouted up until now, this sounds about right.

[Thongkorn]

Think they got it wrong again WE tell them what is going to happen.

[terryw]

The attitude of the EU appears to be that we need their permission to leave. Their arrogance will be their downfall.

[dunroaming]

1 hour ago, Thongkorn said:

Think they got it wrong again WE tell them what is going to happen.

Until Brexit was triggered May and her Brexit team were in control of the negotiating plans and the timetable.  Now we are aboard the EU divorce train and they are in the driving seat.  They will decide the timetable and terms and conditions of the negotiations.  Both sides have much to lose and for both it will be damage limitation that will take precedence.

 

May wanted to negotiate a trade agreement along with the divorce negotiations but she has been told very clearly that it's the divorce first and trade a long way down the line.  In fact no trade agreement can be agreed until after the UK is out of the EU.  This is consistent with the EU's stance from day one so no surprise.  However it means that the UK will have to agree terms and settlement of money owed without knowing if any trade deal is possible.  It is very early days but certainly this is going to be a tough sell.

[evadgib]

Link to all things Brexit:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-exiting-the-european-union

[Retiredandhappyhere]

4 hours ago, dunroaming said:

However it means that the UK will have to agree terms and settlement of money owed without knowing if any trade deal is possible.  It is very early days but certainly this is going to be a tough sell.

The UK is leaving the EU.   Who said that the EU can dictate the way in which negotiations will proceed.  The UK simply has to say that they will NOT agree terms of the divorce and settlement of alleged (net) money owed until brief details of a trade deal are known.  

 

These negotiations are not one-sided.  At the end of the day, as May has already said, NO agreement is better than a BAD agreement and the UK could just walk away.  It is in the interests of both parties to come to a mutually acceptable agreement on trade.

[whatawonderfulday]

6 hours ago, terryw said:

The attitude of the EU appears to be that we need their permission to leave. Their arrogance will be their downfall.

That is the best example, if one is needed, exactly why the British voted for Brexit. Arrogance indeed.  Well it is looking more likely that by statements such as this that the EU ( or the undemocratic EU "parliament" ) are becoming increasingly concerned that the Federal European dream is collapsing and the gravy train for those MEPs is nearing the terminus. It is interesting to note the Greek governments position on this is reportedly not in tune with Tusks statements, not of course they were his but merely a German puppet.

[Ulic]

As far as I am concerned the UK should look after the future pensions of its UK citizens that worked in Brussels. The rest can be paid for by the remaining EU

members. As far as contributions to committed future projects the UK should fund those that are in the UK and cancel those in the UK that are white elephant

pet projects of the European Parliament. It is easy for those that don't contribute to equalization payments to insist that the UK should not only continue to pay but

should pay even more and get less access to the EU market. Things will be interesting with Ireland now that they will now become a net budget contributor not a net subsidies receiver. Off course the EU will make things as difficult as possible  for the UK all the while insisting they are not and they just want to be fair. Complete BS as more than anything they want to stop a run on countries leaving the EU. I see a hard Brexit

in the future with difficult times in the near future. Everything will then sort itself out.  As for May bringing up security, this is not a threat, just a statement of the facts.  The UK will have to tighten its belt in difficult economic times and the EU will need to pay handsomely for continued UK help with its highly developed security apparatus in place. If access to the EU market comes at a cost, so does EU security.

[arithai12]

16 hours ago, terryw said:

The attitude of the EU appears to be that we need their permission to leave. Their arrogance will be their downfall.

The arrogance of the EU is tangible sometimes I agree, not unlike that of London towards Scotland if you wish. But you miss the point, it's not about permission to leave. The divorce has been requested and it has been granted. In fact, many EU countries (and businesses) think it's already taking too long.

 

The point is about on which terms to part, and it's only fair that each of the two will want to grab as much as possible.

[petermik]

Just walk,don,t look back let the EU dictate to those countries that are left in,the UK is open to business to all who want to negotiate only

And to the 10,500+ EU bureaucrats whose salary is in excess of our own PM I say tough titty,maybe no performance bonus for a while

[evadgib]

In a nutshell...