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Britain and E.U. Clear Way for ‘Brexit’ Talks to Proceed Britain and E.U. Clear Way for Brexit Talks to Proceed
(about 1 hour later)
Britain and the European Union on Friday cleared the way to start a crucial new round of talks on British withdrawal from the bloc, overcoming months of deadlock, an internal political standoff in London and days of controversy over the future of the Irish border. Britain and the European Union on Friday cleared the way to start a crucial new round of talks on British withdrawal from the bloc, announcing a breakthrough after months of deadlock, an internal political standoff in London and a dispute over the future of the Irish border.
The accord, which still needs to be approved by European Union leaders at a summit starting Thursday, contains a series of British concessions that should allow the start of negotiations on future trade relations with the bloc, as well as on a period of transition, for the time immediately after Britain’s departure, scheduled for March 2019. Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain made a predawn flight to Brussels to make the announcement with Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, after she wrapped up tough negotiations with the small Northern Irish party on which her government depends.
With that moment fast approaching, Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, has been under growing pressure to achieve a breakthrough. Opponents have criticized the way she has conducted the negotiations, and British businesses have been increasingly anxious to know what rules will apply after British withdrawal, known as Brexit. The accord still needs the approval of European Union leaders, but Mrs. May apparently convinced negotiators that enough progress had been made in talks on Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc to move on to a new phase of negotiations early next year.
The accord contains a series of British concessions that should allow the start of negotiations on future trade relations with the bloc, as well as on a period of transition for the time immediately after Britain’s scheduled departure in March 2019, during which a full trade agreement can ideally be negotiated.
Mrs. May came back to Brussels after a week of negotiations in London with the Democratic Unionist Party, led by Arlene Foster, over language to rule out a so-called hard border between Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, part of the European Union. Mrs. May relies on the 10 votes that Ms. Foster’s party has in Parliament.
Mrs. May had to break off talks earlier in the week when Ms. Foster suddenly objected to a draft British-European Union statement on the border, while the government in Dublin was demanding pledges that there would be no re-imposition of controls on the Irish frontier after Britain leaves the European Union.
But a deal was worked out overnight, and Mr. Juncker said the commission was satisfied that “sufficient progress” has been made in three areas:
• The question of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• A financial settlement, frequently referred to as a divorce bill. Mrs. May had already roughly doubled her original financial offer to the bloc, to pay for commitments made while Britain was a member.
• The rights of British and European Union citizens. There are three million citizens of the bloc in Britain and one million Britons in the union, and their fate had emerged as a sticking point.
“This is a difficult negotiation but we have now made a first breakthrough,” Mr. Juncker said in a statement. “I am satisfied with the fair deal we have reached with the United Kingdom. If the 27 member states agree with our assessment, the European Commission and our chief negotiator Michel Barnier stand ready to begin work on the second phase of the negotiations immediately.”
The heads of the member states will meet next week and are expected to confirm the deal next Friday.
“This government will continue to govern in the interests of the whole community in Northern Ireland and uphold the agreements that have underpinned the huge progress that has been made over the past two decades,” Mrs. May said in a statement on the British government’s website.
With the 2019 deadline fast approaching, Mrs. May has been under growing pressure to achieve a breakthrough. Opponents have criticized the way she has conducted the negotiations, and British businesses have been increasingly anxious to know what rules will apply after British withdrawal, known as Brexit.
Mrs. May, who lost her parliamentary majority in elections earlier this year, has been assailed by numerous problems at home, where her cabinet is deeply divided over Brexit policy and two ministers were recently forced to quit over separate issues.Mrs. May, who lost her parliamentary majority in elections earlier this year, has been assailed by numerous problems at home, where her cabinet is deeply divided over Brexit policy and two ministers were recently forced to quit over separate issues.
Although supporters of Brexit once insisted that Britain held all the cards in the withdrawal negotiations, it has been Mrs. May who has made nearly all the concessions.Although supporters of Brexit once insisted that Britain held all the cards in the withdrawal negotiations, it has been Mrs. May who has made nearly all the concessions.
Before discussing trade, European negotiators insisted on making “sufficient progress” on three “divorce” issues arising from Brexit: Britain’s outstanding financial commitments to the bloc, the rights of European citizens living in Britain, and the future of the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which will stay a member of the European Union. Assuming that European Union leaders agree at their summit meeting in Brussels to proceed, detailed trade negotiations will begin soon, probably early in the new year. There will also be talks on a transition period, which Mrs. May wants to run for two years, during which very little will change as business gets ready for a new set of rules.
That point seemed to have been reached early Friday morning, after Mrs. May traveled to Brussels to sign off on an agreement that was announced by Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission. Mrs. May had already roughly doubled her original financial offer to the bloc, to pay for commitments made while Britain was a member. Time is short. In March, Mrs. May triggered Article 50 of the European Union’s treaty, which lays down a two-year timetable to forge an exit agreement. That can only be extended with the agreement of all member nations.
And after days of confusion, she has now offered enough assurances over the future of the Irish border to satisfy European negotiators, and the Irish government. A trade and transition agreement will have to be concluded well before March 2019 — probably by the fall of 2018 — in order to provide time for it to be ratified by member nations and by the European Parliament. Most trade experts believe that it will only be possible to agree on an outline trade deal next year, and that negotiations will be extended into the transition period.
The government in Dublin had demanded pledges that there would be no re-imposition of controls on the Irish frontier after Britain leaves the European Union. Those controls were dismantled as part of a peace process that ended decades of sectarian conflict, known as the Troubles. The tight time span is not Mrs. May’s only problem. Her cabinet has yet to agree on its ultimate objectives for Brexit, particularly the extent to which Britain would continue to adopt the standards and rules of the European Union, its neighbor and biggest trading partner.
Although no one wants to see their return, avoiding customs checks would be a complicated task if the United Kingdom moves away from the European Union’s rules once it quits the bloc. Britain’s departure would likely mean that it would leave Europe’s customs union, which guarantees tariff-free commerce, and its single market, which lays down rules and standards for trade in goods and many services. Mrs. May’s colleagues are split between those who want to remain close to the bloc, to minimize the disruption to trade, and hard-line supporters of Brexit, such as the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson. He wants Britain to be able to adopt its own rules and regulations and to be free to strike new free trade deals with non-European nations around the globe.
On Monday, Mrs. May’s earlier proposal to square the circle seemed to fall apart when it was opposed by Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, a small Northern Irish grouping upon whose 10 votes Mrs. May relies on in Parliament. In a speech in September in Florence, Mrs. May said that while Britain would leave the customs union and single market, she wanted a much deeper free trade agreement than the one the European Union negotiated with Canada. Officials with the bloc insist that Britain cannot be outside the bloc’s main economic structures and still receive the same type of market access as those on the inside.