London, Feb 5: The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier stressed the urgency of Brexittalks ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May Monday, with her government still deeply divided on the negotiations.
“My feeling is that we have not a minute to lose because we want to achieve a deal,” Barnier told the BBC and Sky News television as he left for London. Barnier will also meet the UK’s Brexit minister David Davis ahead of talks between British and European Union officials in Brussels from Tuesday to Friday. Reports in recent days that some government ministers will seek to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU in order to safeguard trade ties have raised tensions between pro-EU and pro-Brexit factions.
But ahead of Barnier’s visit, May’s spokesman said that Britain did not want to be in a customs union with the EU once it leaves the bloc. “It is not the government’s policy to be a member of the customs union or a customs union,” he told a daily briefing on Monday, saying the two options were instead “a new customs partnership” or “a highly streamlined customs arrangement”.
London and Brussels struck a preliminary deal on key Brexit issues in December but are yet to discuss the conditions for a post-Brexit transition period and future trade relations. May has yet to bring together her divided government to produce a final plan.
High-profile pro-Brexit ministers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are later this week set for a cabinet meeting showdown with europhile ministers, led by finance minister Philip Hammond, as they battle to shape Britain’s post-Brexit vision. Johnson and Gove are ready to deliver an ultimatum to prevent May backtracking on plans to fully leave the customs union, according to The Sunday Times.
AFP
