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| EU divorce bills to citizens' rights: six things we learned about Brexit this week | EU divorce bills to citizens' rights: six things we learned about Brexit this week |
| (8 days later) | |
| No one expected a breakthrough in talks on Britain’s EU separation during a few muggy afternoons in late August. And predictably, the latest round of Brexit talks lived up to its limited billing. | No one expected a breakthrough in talks on Britain’s EU separation during a few muggy afternoons in late August. And predictably, the latest round of Brexit talks lived up to its limited billing. |
| But the gulf between the two sides has become sharper, with neither prepared to budge on what both see as a trump card: money. For the UK, writing a multi-billion euro cheque to cover their “survivable obligations” to the EU is vital leverage to secure a future trade deal. But the EU continues to insist the UK must recognise its debts before talks can move on to the future. Brussels officials fear leaving money until the last minute will lead to a total collapse in negotiations. | But the gulf between the two sides has become sharper, with neither prepared to budge on what both see as a trump card: money. For the UK, writing a multi-billion euro cheque to cover their “survivable obligations” to the EU is vital leverage to secure a future trade deal. But the EU continues to insist the UK must recognise its debts before talks can move on to the future. Brussels officials fear leaving money until the last minute will lead to a total collapse in negotiations. |
| 1. A deal in October is even less likely | 1. A deal in October is even less likely |
| The EU has never been as fixated as the UK on getting a Brexit divorce deal in October. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has previously spoken about October or December. Following this latest round of talks, he was blunt that he expects to be “quite far from being able to say sufficient progress has taken place” by the time EU leaders meet in October, unless talks speed up. | The EU has never been as fixated as the UK on getting a Brexit divorce deal in October. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has previously spoken about October or December. Following this latest round of talks, he was blunt that he expects to be “quite far from being able to say sufficient progress has taken place” by the time EU leaders meet in October, unless talks speed up. |
| So far, EU unity is holding firm. Earlier this week, France dismissed British media reports that it wanted the EU to relent on Brexit timing. A frank assessment of Britain’s “confusion and hesitation” over Brexit by EU ambassadors (two of whom were French) squashed any lingering impression of an imminent “Brexit climbdown” from Paris. | So far, EU unity is holding firm. Earlier this week, France dismissed British media reports that it wanted the EU to relent on Brexit timing. A frank assessment of Britain’s “confusion and hesitation” over Brexit by EU ambassadors (two of whom were French) squashed any lingering impression of an imminent “Brexit climbdown” from Paris. |
| 2. The UK thinks it has “moral” obligations to pay a Brexit bill | 2. The UK thinks it has “moral” obligations to pay a Brexit bill |
| Like any divorce, money was always going to cause some of the most heated arguments. In this third round of negotiations, we found out why. Brussels thinks it has an open and shut case: the UK should pay for everything the government signed up to during 44 years of membership. The UK admits it has obligations, but thinks the EU has thrown in everything including the kitchen sink in an overly sweeping assessment. British officials think the EU position – set out in less than four pages of text and a few tables – has a flimsy legal basis. However, the Brexit secretary, David Davis, conceded on Thursday that the UK has “moral” obligations. He just did not say what they were. | Like any divorce, money was always going to cause some of the most heated arguments. In this third round of negotiations, we found out why. Brussels thinks it has an open and shut case: the UK should pay for everything the government signed up to during 44 years of membership. The UK admits it has obligations, but thinks the EU has thrown in everything including the kitchen sink in an overly sweeping assessment. British officials think the EU position – set out in less than four pages of text and a few tables – has a flimsy legal basis. However, the Brexit secretary, David Davis, conceded on Thursday that the UK has “moral” obligations. He just did not say what they were. |
| 3. There is slow but real progress on citizens’ rights | 3. There is slow but real progress on citizens’ rights |
| It would be wrong to conclude, however, that there was no movement at all. Negotiators working to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in Europe did inch forward in a few areas. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough is for British citizens living in the EU, who will retain the right to use the European health insurance card (Ehic) when visiting another EU state. For example, a British pensioner resident in Spain will be able to get free or low-cost healthcare when holidaying France, as now, if they have an Ehic. British nationals in Britain do not have any guarantees on Ehic usage, as the EU sees this as a “future” issue that does not fall into the current negotiating phase. Negotiations also made progress on mutual recognition of qualifications, although more work is needed to define who benefits. | It would be wrong to conclude, however, that there was no movement at all. Negotiators working to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in Europe did inch forward in a few areas. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough is for British citizens living in the EU, who will retain the right to use the European health insurance card (Ehic) when visiting another EU state. For example, a British pensioner resident in Spain will be able to get free or low-cost healthcare when holidaying France, as now, if they have an Ehic. British nationals in Britain do not have any guarantees on Ehic usage, as the EU sees this as a “future” issue that does not fall into the current negotiating phase. Negotiations also made progress on mutual recognition of qualifications, although more work is needed to define who benefits. |
| 4. The UK thinks it is more flexible | 4. The UK thinks it is more flexible |
| The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) could make “flexible and imaginative” its official motto. Fittingly, it has been copied from the EU and was used several times by Davis this week. The Brexit secretary called on Barnier to be imaginative by not allowing the EU’s strict timetable to stop any discussions about the future. EU negotiators, however, are being strict about the timetable, even correcting themselves if they mention an issue that is being held over until the second phase. | The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) could make “flexible and imaginative” its official motto. Fittingly, it has been copied from the EU and was used several times by Davis this week. The Brexit secretary called on Barnier to be imaginative by not allowing the EU’s strict timetable to stop any discussions about the future. EU negotiators, however, are being strict about the timetable, even correcting themselves if they mention an issue that is being held over until the second phase. |
| British negotiators believe they are more nimble than the EU in other ways. British officials worry their EU counterparts do not have the ability to negotiate the most complex issues because their hands are tied by the EU mandate, drawn up and controlled by 27 countries. | British negotiators believe they are more nimble than the EU in other ways. British officials worry their EU counterparts do not have the ability to negotiate the most complex issues because their hands are tied by the EU mandate, drawn up and controlled by 27 countries. |
| 5. But the EU thinks it is more serious | 5. But the EU thinks it is more serious |
| The EU team counters that a lack of flexibility is not the problem. For Brussels negotiators, the persistent stumbling block is the lack of clarity about what the UK wants. For instance, having studied the UK paper on how to govern any future trade relationship, the EU team concludes that London has not taken any position at all. EU officials have been positive about the publication of British position papers, as evidence of a more serious turn from the government. But EU diplomats find them vague, overly long and weighed down by excessive background details, while lacking firm or feasible proposals. | The EU team counters that a lack of flexibility is not the problem. For Brussels negotiators, the persistent stumbling block is the lack of clarity about what the UK wants. For instance, having studied the UK paper on how to govern any future trade relationship, the EU team concludes that London has not taken any position at all. EU officials have been positive about the publication of British position papers, as evidence of a more serious turn from the government. But EU diplomats find them vague, overly long and weighed down by excessive background details, while lacking firm or feasible proposals. |
| 6. And Brexit will run on Powerpoint | 6. And Brexit will run on Powerpoint |
| The British team has been stung by accusations it is “not serious” and unprepared for the mammoth task ahead. Senior British officials walk into meetings armed with stuffed ringbinders packed with HM Government’s “serious and sincere” legal analysis. This week, EU officials heard a three-hour Powerpoint presentation with 23 slides, as the UK picked apart their workings on the Brexit bill. This was based on an 11-page document – which had very small typeface, as journalists were led to understand. | The British team has been stung by accusations it is “not serious” and unprepared for the mammoth task ahead. Senior British officials walk into meetings armed with stuffed ringbinders packed with HM Government’s “serious and sincere” legal analysis. This week, EU officials heard a three-hour Powerpoint presentation with 23 slides, as the UK picked apart their workings on the Brexit bill. This was based on an 11-page document – which had very small typeface, as journalists were led to understand. |