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AFP
Michel Barnier said that an agreement on Brexit is possible within six to eight weeks.
The chief EU negotiator said that it was "realistic" to expect an agreement on the conditions for the UK's exit from the EU at the very beginning of the year. November.
His comments come amidst unconfirmed reports that a single summit of European leaders could be convened in mid-November to sign the agreement.
Meanwhile, Theresa May has been warned that she would face a conservative rebellion if she persists with her Checkers plan.
Former Brexit Minister Steve Baker said 80 Conservatives could oppose his plans for future relations with the EU at a Commons vote later this year.
The UK and the EU hope to finalize the so-called divorce agreement and agree on a declaration on their future economic cooperation in time for an EU summit in mid-October or no later than the end of the month.
Mr Barnier said this was essential for the UK and EU parliaments to have sufficient time to consider and vote on the proposals before the planned departure of the UK, on 29 March 2019.
But senior Conservative leaders continue to urge the Prime Minister to change course, saying that proposals accepted by his cabinet in July – which would see the UK follow EU rules on trade in goods – will not not supported by Parliament.
Mr Baker said the party risked a "catastrophic break" if the prime minister did not rethink his approach, which he suggested to many MPs – some of whom supported Rest – as worse than staying in the party. # 39; EU. in its rules.
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A key argument put forward by parliamentarians opposed to the Checkers agreement in recent weeks is that the EU will not accept it because it is looking for different levels of market access and obligations for them. goods and services.
After meeting Barnier last week, Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Frenchman's views were closer to those of the Prime Minister while Labor MP Stephen Kinnock said he had told him dead.
But questioned about this at a professional forum in Slovenia, Barnier said it was not true. "I never said that, I do not think that, it's not my feeling."
He described the Checkers plan as a "very important" document and suggested that the EU "compare" with the mandate given to it by the other 27 EU members.
"It's useful because it clearly defines the wishes of the United Kingdom for future relations."
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Mr Barnier said that there were "many, many points of convergence" between the two parties, particularly in the area of defense and security and that an agreement on the withdrawal conditions could be settled within six to eight weeks.
But he warned that the UK's main proposals for post-departure trade relations were a direct challenge to the EU's founding principles and the integrity of the single market.
"It is not possible to obtain freedom for goods without freedom for services, especially for the movement of people," he said.
Salzburg meeting
Following unconfirmed information last week that Germany would have dropped the main objections to the UK's approach, the Financial Times said the EU was ready to start discussions on details of Ms. May's plan.
The paper said Barnier would have the green light to start talks at a meeting in Salzburg later this month while the Guardian suggested that the EU could also announce an extraordinary meeting of European leaders in November to conclude the final agreement.
The interview in Brussels between senior EU officials is increasingly a special summit on Brexit in the week of November 12, so an agreement can not be reached in October, as one can say. to wait for it.
The Checkers deal led to the resignation of then-Brexit Secretary David Davis and former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, both of whom continued to criticize the government's leadership.
Johnson provoked controversy over the weekend with a column in the Mail on Sunday, calling the prime minister's plan a "suicide jacket" in the UK, with the detonator in Brussels hands.
Number 10 said his plan was the "only one on the table" capable of meeting the will of the British while avoiding a difficult border on Ireland.
Asked when the Brexites outside the government would come up with a detailed alternative, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said he and others would present a "full set of new ideas" in weeks to come. in a plan that would be approved by Parliament.
