Theresa declares “Mayday” as BREXIT negotiations enter deep waters


nsnbc : British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning to appeal to her counterparts in the European Union to try to break an impasse in Brexit talks. After four days of negotiations, the third round of formal Brexit discussions between London and Brussels, the two sides are as wide apart on the key issues as they were before, acknowledge British and EU officials.

Theresa May_BREXIT_EU_Sept 2017_UKEuropean Union officials say the British remain unclear about what they want, while the British argue the EU negotiators’ insistence on agreeing on the terms of departure before negotiating a free trade deal is artificial and unhelpful. Rarely mentioned publicly, the impasse is also being cause by London’s attempt to leave the EU while keeping the “City of London” on top of the European economy. It’s an attempt neither France nor Germany are likely to accept in any way, shape or form.

Other remaining stumbling blocks include a reported $89 billion “divorce bill” Brussels is demanding for the British departure to cover budget payments, and project and structural loans Britain committed to in 2013, long before last year’s Brexit referendum. The British say the EU sums don’t add up, but EU officials dismissed a British demand for flexibility in the negotiations.

An exasperated Michel Barnier, the chief EU negotiator told reporters, “To be flexible you need two points, our point and their point. We need to know their position and then I can be flexible.” Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, seconded Barnier’s remarks, arguing, “If only one party around the table is putting [out] a position and the other party is not responding, then it is difficult to start a negotiation.”

Verhofstadt says it is highly unlikely the negotiation timetable will be met. The two sides are to have made substantial progress towards a departure agreement by October or trade talks can’t begin, as far the European Union is concerned.

Some former British officials have criticized the British government’s strategy. They say it is a reflection of the sharp rifts within Theresa May’s Cabinet, as well as the wider Conservative Party and Britain’s Parliament, over whether the country should remain a member of the EU single market and customs union after Brexit, despite having to accept rules and regulations from Brussels that London will have no influence on shaping.

The influential chancellor of the exchequer, (finance minister) Phil Hammond, backed by many of the country’s top business people, is trying to maneuver the ruling Conservatives away from a so-called “hard Brexit” and a definitive break with Europe.

F/AK – nsnbc 01.09.2017



Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/09/01/theresa-declares-mayday-as-brexit-negotiations-enter-deep-waters/

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