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Brexit: EU leaders agree to move talks to next stage Brexit: EU leaders agree to move talks to next stage
(about 1 hour later)
EU leaders have agreed to move Brexit talks on to the second phase but called for "further clarity" from the UK about its future intentions. EU leaders have agreed to move Brexit talks on to the second phase but called for "further clarity" from the UK about the future relationship it wants.
Talks will now move on to the long-term relationship between the UK and EU. The first issue to be discussed, early next year, will be the details of an expected two-year transition period after the UK's exit in March 2019.
The first issue to be discussed, at talks next month, will be the terms of an expected two-year transition phase after the UK's March 2019 exit. Talks on trade and security co-operation are set to follow in March.
Theresa May welcomed the move as an "important step on the road" to ensuring a "smooth and orderly" exit. Theresa May hailed an "important step" on the road but Germany's Angela Merkel said it would get "even tougher".
While acknowledging "very significant progress" had been made, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the next phase would be "even tougher". Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, broke the news that the 27 EU leaders were happy to move onto phase two after they met in Brussels.
Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, tweeted the news that the 27 EU leaders were happy to move onto phase two after they met in Brussels. He congratulated Mrs May on reaching this stage and said the EU would begin internal preparations for the next phase right now as well as "exploratory contacts with the UK to get more clarity on their vision".
He congratulated UK Prime Minister Mrs May on reaching what the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said was a major moment in the Brexit process. While securing a deal in time for the UK's exit in March 2019 was realistic, he suggested that the next phase would be "more challenging and more demanding".
Mrs May has said she wants both sides to approach the next phase of negotiations, which will determine the long-term shape of the UK relations with the EU, with "creativity and ambition". Mrs May said the two sides would begin discussions on future relations straight away and hoped for "rapid progress" on a transitional phase to "give certainty" to business.
"This is an important step on the road to delivering the smooth and orderly Brexit that people voted for in June 2016," she said.
"The UK and EU have shown what can be achieved with commitment and perseverance on both sides".
The EU has published its guidelines for phase two of the negotiations, with discussions on future economic co-operation not likely to begin until March.The EU has published its guidelines for phase two of the negotiations, with discussions on future economic co-operation not likely to begin until March.
But EU members can begin internal discussions about their future relationship with the UK now, which Downing Street is understood to be pleased about.
The three page document says the UK will remain under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and be required to permit freedom of movement during any transition period.The three page document says the UK will remain under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and be required to permit freedom of movement during any transition period.
And agreements on the Irish border, the so-called divorce bill and the rights of EU and UK citizens, agreed by Mrs May last Friday, must be "respected in full and translated faithfully into legal terms as quickly as possible".
'End state''End state'
And agreements on the Irish border, the so-called divorce bill and the rights of EU and UK citizens, agreed by Mrs May last Friday, must be "respected in full and translated faithfully into legal terms as quickly as possible".
The document says: "As the UK will continue to participate in the customs union and the single market during the transition, it will have to continue to comply with EU trade policy."The document says: "As the UK will continue to participate in the customs union and the single market during the transition, it will have to continue to comply with EU trade policy."
On trade, it says while the EU is willing to engage in "preliminary and preparatory discussions" as part of building a "close partnership" after the UK's departure any formal agreement "can only be finalised and concluded once the UK has become a third country".On trade, it says while the EU is willing to engage in "preliminary and preparatory discussions" as part of building a "close partnership" after the UK's departure any formal agreement "can only be finalised and concluded once the UK has become a third country".
Phew for PM
By the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg
After the six months she has had, Theresa May might be entitled to breathe a sigh of relief, as the European Council officially declared that the first phase of our long goodbye from the European Union is over.
Stand back from the daily dramas and perhaps it was always bound to happen.
Both sides are committed to getting an agreement.
The EU and the UK both want a deal to be done, and while there has, inevitably, been grumpiness on both sides, they have, in the main, dealt with each other in good faith.
The document "calls on the UK to provide further clarity on its position on the framework for the future relationship".The document "calls on the UK to provide further clarity on its position on the framework for the future relationship".
And in a passage added during the past week, it invites the EU's negotiator Michel Barnier to "continue internal preparatory discussions, including on the scope of the framework for the future relationship" rather than having to wait until March.And in a passage added during the past week, it invites the EU's negotiator Michel Barnier to "continue internal preparatory discussions, including on the scope of the framework for the future relationship" rather than having to wait until March.
Mr Juncker said on Friday that the EU's initial priority was to "formalise the agreement" that had been reached before moving forward, adding "the second phase will be significantly harder and the first was very difficult". European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU's initial priority was to "formalise the agreement" that had been reached before moving forward, adding "the second phase will be significantly harder and the first was very difficult".
French President Emmanuel Macron said in moving forward the EU had maintained its unity, protected the integrity of the single market and ensured "compliance with our own rules". Praising Mrs May as a "tough, smart and polite" negotiator, he said he was "entirely convinced" that the final agreement reached would be approved by the UK and European Parliaments.
Giving his response, French President Emmanuel Macron said that in moving forward the EU had maintained its unity, protected the integrity of the single market and ensured "compliance with our own rules".
Mrs May is set to discuss her vision of the "end-state" for the UK outside the EU at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, having suffered her first Commons Brexit defeat earlier this week.Mrs May is set to discuss her vision of the "end-state" for the UK outside the EU at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, having suffered her first Commons Brexit defeat earlier this week.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said the government was "ready for the next stage".Brexit Secretary David Davis said the government was "ready for the next stage".