The European Union and the United Kingdom will negotiate from now on constantly. This was the main EU negotiator Michel Barnier. He recalled that the talks on Britain’s exit from the Union entered their final phase.
The Union representative stressed that there would be regular meetings with British Minister for Brexit Dominic Raab. Both sides have not yet reached an agreement on avoiding a “hard” border with Ireland. Progress has been made in the field of security and foreign policy cooperation unlike future economic relations.
Barnier said any agreement with Britain on their future relations must comply with EU single market rules. He explained that, at the July negotiating session, both sides came closer to a security co-operation agreement after Brexit, but they are still far from an agreement on their future economic relations.
“This partnership must respect the single market and the foundations of the European project and, if this is well understood, we can successfully complete the negotiations”, Barnier said. He stressed that the deal with Britain must be reached no later than the early November and that the EU has not worked for a “Brexit without a deal”, although it needs to prepare for this scenario as well.
In turn, Raab noted that he was confident that an agreement could be reached by October.
“If we have this ambition, this pragmatism and this energy on both sides, I am confident that we can conclude an agreement by October,” the British minister announced after talks. “There are still differences, we have held a fair talk about them,” he added.
The British minister noted that he wants both parties to try to reach an agreement at a political level which they have so far failed to accomplish during the technical negotiations.
In parallel, there is a new wave of protests in Scotland with a request for a second referendum whether Britain should leave the European Union. The majority of people in Scotland want to be part of the Union. If Britain leaves the EU finally, the Scottish people are threatening with a new referendum on independence. The latest opinion polls throughout the United Kingdom shows that 45 percent of respondents are for a new referendum, while 34 percent are against.
