EU Council President Donald Tusk has told UK Prime Minister Theresa May that Brexit talks have not yielded enough progress. But he also acknowledged that Britain has adopted a more realistic attitude.
Image: Reuters/H. McKay
Advertisement
Britain was finally striking a more "constructive and realistic" note, EU President Donald Tusk said after a two-hour meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday in London.
Praising May's Brexit speech in Florence last week, he said that he felt that "the philosophy of having the cake and eating it is finally coming at an end," using a phrase Brexit supporters, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had used in the past.
Brexit negotiations: What are the key issues?
Brexit talks began in June and both sides have been frustrated at the lack of progress. DW has taken a look at key issues being debated in Brussels as the clock ticks toward Britain's scheduled departure in March 2019.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/o. Hoslet
Two phases
EU leaders agreed to negotiating guidelines during a summit in April 2017 that divided the divorce talks into two phases. Phase I, in which both sides aimed to settle the basic terms of Britain's departure, started in July and ended with an agreement on "sufficient progress" in December. Officials are now holding Phase II negotiations on the post-Brexit relationship between Britain and the EU.
Image: Reuters/File Photo/Y. Herman
The "Brexit Bill"
London agreed to a formula for calculating what it owes in its "divorce bill" to the EU in early December after months of haggling by British officials. The current EU budget expires in 2022 and EU officials have said the divorce bill will cover financial obligations Britain had committed to before triggering article 50. The final bill will reportedly total around £50 billion (€67 billion).
Image: picture-alliance/empics/D. Martinez
Citizens' rights
Both sides agreed in early December that the 3 million EU citizens currently in Britain and the 1.1 million British citizens in the EU keep their residency rights after Brexit. British courts will have immediate jurisdiction over EU citizens living in Britain. But the EU's highest court, the ECJ, can hear cases until 2027 if British judges refer unclear cases to them.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Smith
The Irish border
Britain and the EU also agreed in December that no border checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would return post-Brexit. How feasible the commitment will be is unclear, as Britain's commitment to leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union makes it difficult to avoid customs checks at the Irish border.
Image: Reuters/C. Kilcoyne
Transition period
Theresa May envisages a two-year transition period after March 2019. Both sides still have to hash out the details of the transition period in Phase II, including the exact end-date, whether new EU laws passed during the period will apply to Britain, and whether Britain can negotiate its own free trade deals. British officials hope to agree on the terms of the transition by March 2018.
Image: Imago
Trade
May has repeatedly said Britain will leave the European Single Market and the EU Customs Union. Leaving both could disrupt British-EU trade, but allow Britain to negotiate its own free trade deals and restrict EU migration — key demands by pro-Brexit politicians. London has said it wants to negotiate a new EU-UK trade deal during Phase II to minimize trade disruption before March 2019.
Image: Picture alliance/empics/A. Matthews
Immigration
Britain has also vowed to restrict EU migration into Britain after Brexit. However, some British lawmakers are wary that a sharp drop in immigration could lead to shortfalls in key sectors, including health, social care and construction. The EU has warned that Single Market access is out of the question if London decides to restrict the ability of its citizens to live and work in Britain.
Image: picture alliance/PA Wire /S. Parsons
Security
Recent terror attacks across Europe including a string in Britain underline both sides' support for continued security cooperation after March 2019. But access to EU institutions such as Europol and programs such as the European Arrest Warrant require compliance with EU laws. Whether Britain will still be compliant after it leaves is unclear.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/o. Hoslet
8 images1 | 8
May said that she had intended last week's speech to "create momentum in the ongoing talks" and that it was important for EU negotiators to now respond in the same spirit," according to a Downing Street statement.
The EU's negotiators have repeatedly stressed that the UK cannot leave the EU while holding on to all the benefits that come with membership in the bloc.
But Tusk also stressed that there had not been "sufficient progress" to unlock negotiations on future ties between the UK and the EU.
"If you ask me today... I would say there is no sufficient progress yet but we will work on it," he told reporters outside Downing Street.
Brexit talks October deadline
His comments come a day after the fourth round of Brexit talks started, led by the EU's Michel Barnier and the UK's David Davis.
The EU has stipulated that the current negotiations – which are to culminate in an EU meeting on the topic on October 19 to 20 - will have to resolve the status of EU citizens living in Britain, the bill Britain will have to pay for leaving the EU and the question of what should happen to the Irish border after Brexit.
Only if enough progress has been made in these key areas would negotiators be able to move on to issues the UK has expressed a particular interest in, such as trade ties with the bloc. The UK is hoping to strike a definitive deal to leave the EU by October 2018, to be able to elave the bloc the following spring.
