May have little leeway over Brexit, warns German minister | Policy



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Theresa May's hopes of organizing a special summit on Brexit seem to have fainted after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned that a breakthrough had not been reached during the last intensive negotiations with the British.

Brussels, Barnier told the European Affairs Ministers of the 27 that the negotiators had so far failed to move decisively forward the issue of the Irish border.

The EU continues intense negotiating efforts, but no agreement has yet been reached. 19659002] If an agreement could be reached within the next 36 hours, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, could still convene a summit in November, which would lead to the publication of the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on future relationships.

November 25th is considered the ultimate possible date for a rally of rulers.

The German Minister of the European Union has warned Theresa May a maneuver in the negotiations on Brexit while the price set by Brussels for a British customs union in the withdrawal agreement threatens to make derail the discussions in a crisp week.

Before the information meeting of Michel Barnier, the chief negotiator of the EU, in the last secret talks between the British negotiating team and the European Commission, the ministers of the 39; EU-27 have cast doubt on the chances of an imminent advance.

Michael Roth, Deputy Minister for the European Union, said that the Member States have compromises but the room for maneuver is very limited and our British friends know exactly where our discussions are. "

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders said:" We have time but not so much, so for the moment It is difficult to make real progress but I hope it will be possible before Christmas.

"We are of course prepared for all possibilities, but we try not to work agreement and we are very close, you know what the limits are for the moment.

"About Ireland, we have made a proposal with some changes in the last few days, but we have not sent a positive signal yet. I hope that will be the case in the coming weeks, but certainly not today.

Negotiations appear to be stalled, while May hoped that a special summit on Brexit would take place at the end of the month, to give it the same momentum.

Faced with the growing concern of the Prime Minister's calendar, the pound fell Monday morning from 0.8% to $ 1.2827, the lowest in 11 days.

To avoid a border too hard the island of Ireland being still emerging, the government proposes the establishment of a temporary customs union in the United Kingdom up to That a possible solution is considered by Whitehall.

The EU also insists that the United Kingdom can not unilaterally withdraw from this agreement. if Whitehall decided that another solution to the border was possible.

Brussels also calls on the United Kingdom to "dynamically" align with future environmental, social and labor regulations, which would in effect force Parliament to cut and paste the dictates of the EU. EU in UK legislation. 19659002] Member States have also proposed that Member States undertake to provide the European fishing fleet with access to the British seas after Brexit as a precondition for the conclusion of an agreement on the seafarers. Customs Union.

Nathalie Loiseau, French Minister for the European Union, said intensive discussions had taken place and that Brussels was working to avoid a scenario of lack of agreement, which , she stressed, was above all important for the United Kingdom.

She said, "Unfortunately, I do not have a crystal ball. We will see very closely what the customs union would mean for us because it is between the withdrawal agreement and future relations, so it is of course a bit special to discuss both. We are ready, we are open, but of course we want to know the details.

"If we put an end to any temporary arrangement, it is a bilateral decision of the EU27 and the UK at the same time, and we know at that moment what kind of solution exists for the Irish border. "

The British government has not yet approved the draft customs union of May, Aleš Chmelař, Minister of Europe of the Czech Republic, suggested that the blockage was He said: "I still hope that we will soon have a decision on the breakthroughs in the negotiations, but it remains to be seen whether we will hold a summit before December or not.

"We have all seen technical possibilities on the compromise, it is now a political agreement, and I still hope that decisive progress can be made this month." [19659021] [ad_2]
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