By the time the UK leaves the EU it will only be possible to draw up a “political declaration” on the framework for trade, not a full trade deal, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said.
His comments were in contrast to those of the UK Brexit Secretary David Davis, who said that other than “minor tinkering” by the time of Britain’s exit date of March 2019, “we would expect the substantive trade deal to be struck”.
Davis added that the formality of signing would need to happen “one minute, or one second, after we leave”.
Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of foreign affairs and EU ministers in Brussels, Barnier said there is not enough time to do anything more detailed, but also that agreeing a full trade deal would be prevented by legal and technical constraints.
Barnier said it would be possible by October next year to reach a draft withdrawal treaty to be ratified by the European Parliament and national parliaments ahead of the formal exit date of 29 March 2019.
On Friday (15 December), EU leaders are expected to sign off on a political agreement reached last week between UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on the first phase of the talks — known as the ‘joint report’.
Barnier has said: “[The EU] will not accept any backtracking from the UK on commitments. In the joint report, all our points of agreement are now closed.”
