15 May 2017

Bloomberg: EU tightens Brexit negotiating language as positions harden

The EU toughened its language on a future transitional arrangement that would help companies adapt to Britain’s new status, specified demands on citizens’ rights and clarified the role of European courts, according to the latest draft negotiating directives obtained by Bloomberg News.

Any transitional phase, from the time the U.K. formally exits the EU to the start of a possible trade deal, must be “clearly defined, limited in time and subject to effective enforcement mechanisms,” the draft, dated May 15, said.

The draft directives became public a day after U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis rejected the EU’s timetable for the talks and warned there would be a “row” over that as well as arguments over the Irish border and the European Court of Justice’s status in post-Brexit Britain. The negotiating mandate forms the basis of the EU’s approach to the talks, which are scheduled to begin after the U.K. general election on June 8. [...]

The latest draft, which has undergone revisions by envoys from the EU’s 27 national governments and is scheduled to be approved by member states on Monday, adds that the ECJ should guarantee the implementation of the Brexit deal. It also emphasizes that discussions about future trade in services will not start until there’s been progress on the U.K.’s financial contributions, Ireland and the rights of EU citizens in the U.K. and British nationals living in the EU.

Those citizens should be entitled to rights “which are in the process of being obtained, including the possibility to acquire them under current conditions after the withdrawal date,” according to the latest document.

The document sets out additional details on the rights to be protected, adding those of free movement, equal treatment in health care and access to educational courses for workers’ family members. [...]

Full article on Bloomberg

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