Post-Brexit transition period 'is not a given'

A post-Brexit transition is "not a given", the European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned Britain yesterday, saying London had raised "substantial" issues with the adaptation period as proposed by the bloc.

Barnier, speaking to journalists in Brussels after the latest round of negotiations with British envoys, said he was surprised by London's position and that some of the EU's lines on the transition period were non-negotiable.

"If these differences persist, a transition is not a given," Barnier said. "If these disagreements were to persist, there will undoubtedly be a problem. I hope we will be able to resolve these disagreements in the next round."

He said Britain rejected giving lifetime rights to EU citizens who arrive after Brexit but before 2021, demanded mechanisms to be able to avoid any new EU laws it disliked, and lashing out against a mechanism the EU wants to be able to unilaterally suspend Britain's access to the single market in case of disputes.

"The UK insisted that we should reach an agreement in March on this transitional period. At the same time, however, our partners set out a certain number of disagreements, which I regard as substantial," Barnier said.

He said the EU was still waiting for London to explain what sort of future relationship it wants with the EU and how to avoid an Irish border if, as Prime Minister Theresa May had said, it were to leave the bloc's customs union in the future.

"The sooner the UK makes its choices, the better," Barnier also said. "A UK decision to leave the single market and leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable."

“We focus on solutions to avoid hard border... any solution must be precise, clear and unambiguous," Barnier said. "We are waiting for such a solution."