Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said in Brussels today that Britain “wants to keep all options open” and will only strike a “deal if it’s in Britain’s interest”. Eadie said by giving approval for June’s referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union, parliament had accepted that Article 50 would have to be triggered in the event of a “leave” vote as that was the only way to implement the result.
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Article 50 is a treaty that can be triggered by a member of the European Union that wishes to withdraw from the EU.
Michael Barnier, the European Un ion’s Brexit negotiator has laid out an approximate timeline for the negotiations, calling for an orderly exit from the Union.
The former European Union financial services commissioner said that if May triggers the two-year divorce process under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty as promised in March 2017, then the window for talks will be tight.
Mr Barnier, who was appointed by the commission’s president Jean-Claude Juncker in July, is leading a team of approximately 30 officials to lead technical negotiations by the commission, though that task-force is expected to expand once the negotiations proper begin.
Laying down a series of early strictures, he also said Britain’s exit deal must be worse than the current set up, adding: “Third countries can never have the same rights and benefits”.
Both sides have enough to leave the parliamentary battle with some satisfaction, but pressure is now likely to ramp up on the PM – who has declared she wants a “red, white and blue Brexit” – to set out a detailed plan.
Barnier – once dubbed “the most unsafe man in Europe” by the London Daily Telegraph newspaper – was giving his first detailed briefing of his role since being appointed to lead the Brexit talks on behalf of the European Commission.
Although his battles with London’s bankers were often exaggerated, the choice of Barnier was described as an “act of war” by some British journalists and was greeted with undisguised glee by Brussels europhiles.
“It’s the first that I have heard of it”, the spokesman told reporters.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appeared unconcerned by the time frame outlined by Barnier.
Speaking during a visit to the Gulf for talks on post-Brexit trade, May insisted on Tuesday she wanted an “ambitious” deal, while still giving few details.
And various terms have been coined to illustrate the different deals that could be done, including “hard Brexit”, “soft Brexit” and “grey Brexit”. “Actually, I think what we should be looking for is a red, white and blue Brexit”, said the Prime Minister.
Mr Barnier indicated a transitional arrangement could be put in place after the formal break, potentially meaning the United Kingdom continuing to pay into the Brussels budget in order to secure the best single market access.
The government announced on Tuesday it had accepted the opposition Labour Party’s call for it to set out its plans for Brexit before formal talks, while asking parliament to respect its timetable. This will severely cut back on the time politicians have to reach an agreement, as Prime Minister Theresa May was hoping to solidify the vote to leave come May of 2017, but parliament threw a grenade her way when it came to this idea becoming a realization.
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Attorney General Jeremy Wright, the British government’s top lawyer, told the High Court on October 17: “We do not argue that an Article 50 notice can be revoked”.
