In a statement on Wednesday, the EU Commission said that time was at a premium and the outlined plans by Britian will help the process. “We see the UK publications of a series of position papers as a positive step towards really starting phase one of negotiations. The clock is ticking and this will allow us to make progress,” the Commission said. “We will carefully study the two papers in the light of the European council guild lines and the Council Negotiation Directives.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the EU Commission said that time was at a premium and the outlined plans by Britian will help the process.
“We see the UK publications of a series of position papers as a positive step towards really starting phase one of negotiations. The clock is ticking and this will allow us to make progress,” the Commission said. “We will carefully study the two papers in the light of the European council guild lines and the Council Negotiation Directives.”
The papers
Two papers have been released by the British Government this week.
On Tuesday, a paper outlined Britain’s hope to secure a temporary customs union with the European Union after Brexit, while a long-term deal is worked out.
On Wednesday, a paper outlining the UK’s position on how to address the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland and Ireland was published, emphasising Britain’s desire for no border controls between the North and the Republic of Ireland.
These paper are the first UK response to the series of nine papers released by the EU before this summer.
Ireland
On Ireland, the Commission said: “we must discuss how to maintain Common Travel Area and protect in all its dimensions the Good Friday Agreement. It is essential we have a political discussion on this before looking at technical solutions”.
Read More
UK seeks temporary customs union post-Brexit
No border post Brexit - UK
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: