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Monday, July 16, negotiations on Brexit resume between EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and the new British negotiator appointed by Theresa May.
Negotiations on Brexit resume Monday, July 16 as planned with Britain's new negotiator appointed by Theresa May, said Tuesday Michel Barnier, chief negotiator of the European Union for Brexit, refuses to comment on the turmoil in London after the resignation of two ministers opposed to a Brexit "soft" . "I had a frank and cordial relationship with (the resigned Brexit minister) David Davis, and now I'm going to work next Monday with the negotiator appointed by Ms. May" Barnier told AFP after a lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
As to whether the British government reshuffle reduced the chances of reaching an agreement, Mr. Barnier simply felt that "it will be difficult to way of concluding the negotiations ". The aim is to reach an agreement by October on the terms of the UK exit from the EU, in order to give the various parliaments time to ratify it before the actual exit of the United Kingdom at the end of March 2019. [19659004] "The Brexit dream is dying"
The European negotiator refused to comment on the turmoil in the UK after the announcement of the resignation of Mr Davis, replaced by Eurosceptic Dominic Raab, and Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, a supporter of a hard Brexit, replaced by Health Minister Jeremy Hunt. Disagreements in the British government pose the threat of a vote of no confidence against the British prime minister. "I never comment on the British national political situation" Barnier said, also refusing to react to Boris Johnson's statements
Criticizing May's concessions to the EU in new proposals, Boris Johnson said in his resignation letter that the "dream (of Brexit) is dying" and that the United Kingdom was moving towards a "colony status" of the EU. "There is too little time, I do not want to lose, it must be used for negotiations" stressed Mr. Barnier. "We all know that a scenario without agreement would have substantial costs" again stressed the European negotiator during the conference. "The absence of agreement would be the worst solution for everyone" . "After 12 months of negotiations, we found an agreement on 80% of the withdrawal agreement" he said
The question of Northern Ireland
But "the most difficult problems remain unresolved" starting with the key issue of border controls between the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union, and Northern Ireland, which will to leave because it is part of the United Kingdom, he explained. "We must play down these controls" which are often very technical, he explained. Asked about the possibility of a "Italexit" an exit from Italy from the EU after Brexit, Barnier seemed to downplay the risk. "I never heard from the new Italian government that it wanted to start an exit process from the European Union" he said, adding that he had met his new leader last week during from a summit in Brussels. "They want to be part of the single market and the euro zone" .
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