Breakthrough on Brexit. Or at least on phase one, the one relating to the conditions of the divorce. The European Commission has asked the European Council to ratify that "sufficient progress has been achieved in the first phase of the negotiations with the United Kingdom".
Theresa May worked through the night to untie the Ireland knot and thus meeting the deadline on Sunday, the deadline set by the EU for an agreement. The British premier landed in Brussels at dawn to announce the agreement on phase one of Brexit. There are three crucial points.
First, the rights of the four million Europeans living in London will be respected. "The rights of EU citizens living in the United Kingdom and of British citizens living in the EU 27 will remain the same after the United Kingdom has left the EU", indicates the EU executive, explaining that administrative procedures will be cheap and simple.
Furthermore, the United Kingdom undertakes to pay a sum of around 50 billion pounds, so that "the commitments made by the 28 members of the EU will be honored by the 28".
Finally, a special status will be guaranteed for the border between Ulster and Dublin: the UK recognizes the unique situation of the island of Ireland and has made significant commitments to avoid "hard" borders.
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— Martin Selmayr (@MartinSelmayr) 8 December 2017
With this tweet, the staff of EU President Jean Claude Junker greeted the agreement reached after a long night of negotiations. Now the door opens for phase two of the discussion, the one on the conditions of future relations between the EU and the United Kingdom. It will be a negotiation no less difficult than the first, with an uncertain outcome at the moment.
“We can immediately negotiate the conditions of the transition period with London and start negotiations on future relations between the EU and the United Kingdom”. This was stated by the president of the EU, Donald Tusk, indicating that he had already sent the twenty-seven documents for the decision they will have to take in mid-December.
Tusk added that, during the transition period between the UK's formal withdrawal date (March 29, 2019) and the effective withdrawal date, London will have to comply with "all EU laws including new laws", the commitments of budget, EU supervision and related obligations. In any case, from 29 March, decisions in the European Union will be taken at 27. The transition period should last two years http://
“Citizens first. EU citizens' rights will be protected, especially the right to live, work and study and family reunification.” @JunckerEU's full speech at press conference with @theresa_may after sufficient progress in #Brexit negotiations → https://t.co/qC22Ml8Cws pic.twitter.com/kbySxnKnPa
—European Commission (@EU_Commission) 8 December 2017
In early European morning trade, the pound slowed to 1,3456 (against 1,3512 on the previous day).
