UK Brexit chief not interested in transitional deal

“The secretary of state has been engaging with a wide range of businesses as part of the preparations for negotiations. with regards to the discussions with the City of London, as they have said, these notes are an interpretation of a discussion”, the spokeswoman told reporters.

“Speaking in Brussels, Belgium, Barnier said the process would need to be completed by October 2018 to allow for ratification by the 27 remaining member states within the two-year time scale prescribed by European Union rules”.

British Prime Minister Theresa May wants to invoke by the end of March Article 50 of the EU Treaty, which will officially kick off two years of exit talks.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said in Brussels today that Britain “wants to keep all options open” and will only strike a “deal if it’s in Britain’s interest”.

Mr. Barnier countered the expectations of some British officials that the United Kingdom could end the exit period with a new economic, trade and political relationship with the EU.

The British government is now divided on whether to support demands for transitional arrangements – and if so, in what form – reflecting diverging views about the best way to leave the European Union and concerns about a backlash from those who campaigned and voted for Brexit. May visited India last month in an attempt to promote post-Brexit trade and investment.

Also over the past week, Davis has given more positive signals about possible arrangements to support a Brexit soft landing, saying Britain would consider making payments to the European Union after it leaves to achieve the best possible access for businesses to the bloc’s markets.

He said: “Many countries have gone independent from their former colonial masters very much more quickly than two years and it should be easy, if we don’t make things impossibly complicated for ourselves, to do this much more quickly”.

The motion and its amendment will be subject to a debate and non-binding vote in House of Commons on Wednesday.

It quoted him as saying a transitional deal “could be perceived as a delay to the process that is not something the Government can abide”.

“Indian companies here will face the same problems that Britain will face on Brexit, so you can not go and do a Brexit negotiation with the European Union without taking into confidence other companies”, Patnaik said. The “overwhelming evidence” is that the public “do not want hard Brexit”. As of now, her government is fighting with lawmakers over the entire process, as the decision to wait for parliamentary approval was appealed by the Conservatives.

Responding to the comments, Downing Street said it would be “wrong” to put a deadline on talks, stating: “It is our Article 50 as well, because we are members of the EU”.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright, the British government’s top lawyer, told the High Court on October 17: “We do not argue that an Article 50 notice can be revoked”. The government is contesting that ruling in the Supreme Court.

“It’s actually quite worrisome, what we hear coming out of London”, said Jan Techau, Director of the Richard C. Holbrooke Forum, a research institute in Berlin.”It seems that there is utter cluelessness about what can be realistically achieved in this negotiation”.

A motion was raised by the opposition Labour party to pressue May to reveal her hand ahead of exit talks.