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EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier says Brexit deal could be reached by October 2018 EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier says Brexit deal could be reached by October 2018
(35 minutes later)
The EU Commission's chief negotiator has said that a deal with the UK on Brexit should be reached by October 2018.The EU Commission's chief negotiator has said that a deal with the UK on Brexit should be reached by October 2018.
Michel Barnier said: "Should the UK notify the council by the end of March '17 [that it is triggering Article 50], as Prime Minister Theresa May said she would, it is safe to say that negotiation would start a few weeks later and an Article 50 agreement be reached by October '18." In his first briefing on preparations for Article 50 negotiations, Michel Barnier warned that "third countries" like the UK could not expect to receive the same benefits as full EU members.
He said that after that date, there would need to be four or five months for ratification. It comes as pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May is mounting to reveal more details of her negotiating position at home and abroad. 
Mr Barnier said: "Should the UK notify the council by the end of March '17 [that it is triggering Article 50], as Prime Minister Theresa May said she would, it is safe to say that negotiation would start a few weeks later and an Article 50 agreement be reached by October '18."
After that date there would need to be four or five months for ratification, he said.
Mr Barnier stuck doggedly to the EU's negotiating line, that the "single market and its four freedoms are indivisible", highlighting the difficulty Theresa May will have in trying to win access to the trading bloc while imposing tighter immigration controls.
He said: "Being a member of the European Union comes with rights and benefits. Third countries can never have the same rights and benefits since they are not subject to the same obligations."
The EU negotiator went on to say it is difficult to talk about any agreement on a transitional period, while there is so little known about what the UK requires from its future relationship with the EU.
More to follow...More to follow...