The European affairs ministers of the 27 member states, meeting on Monday 22 May, voted unanimously to adopt the negotiating directives that form the mandate for the EU negotiator for Brexit and formally appointed Michel Barnier to that role. Ministers also set up a working group, which will meet for the first time on Tuesday 23 May, to support the work of the European Council and the General Affairs Council on the talks with the United Kingdom.
The ministers’ meeting on Monday was, as expected, relatively short, clearly demonstrating the unity and consensus on this issue among the 27 member states, said Louis Grech, the Maltese minister responsible for European affairs. “As far as we are concerned, the negotiations can begin”, he said, acknowledging that they will be “complex”.
This General Affairs Council was, in the view of Michel Barnier, “a significant political step”, marking the launch of the first phase of the ordered withdrawal of the United Kingdom, he stated at a press conference.
Barnier also stated that he wanted negotiations with London to begin in the week of 19 June, after the UK general election. He would like, furthermore, to be in a position to submit an initial report to the heads of state and/or government for their meeting on 22 and 23 June.
He made it clear that he did not want to get into a “no deal” scenario, even as tensions are rising with London, particularly over the “divorce bill”, estimated at between €60 billion and €100 billion. Keen simply to “balance the books” on the EU’s membership of the EU, Barnier said that this was, above all, “a prerequisite for trust between us”, in particular, in “building a new relationship”.
UK Brexit minister David Davis said in an interview with the Sunday Times on 21 May that refusal to negotiate a trade deal until the United Kingdom has agreed to pay its divorce bill could plunge the talks into “crisis”. “I would advise everyone to explain carefully the consequences of ‘no deal’”, responded Barnier.
Three major issues to resolve before moving to second phase. The mandate adopted on Monday 22 May sets out the three main issues to be resolved in the first phase of negotiation: citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and the situation of Ireland. The governance of the agreement and the administrative procedures will also have to be dealt with in the first phase, with the EU wanting, for example, to be as transparent as possible throughout the talks with London and to make as many documents as possible available to the public.
The mandate states, with regard to citizens’ rights (those of EU citizens in the UK and vice versa), which rights will be covered and for whom (family and also economically inactive people and the retired). Rights acquired before Brexit should be protected for the lifetime of those concerned, the EU says.
Moving on to the divorce bill, the EU establishes a methodology for calculating the final amount, taking into account, for example, budgetary commitments entered into, involvement in programmes and involvement in certain institutions such as the EIB and even the ECB. According to press reports, this settlement, at one time estimated at €60 billion, could be as high as €100 billion. Barnier, however, has at no time put a figure on the settlement, taking the view that it will need to be revised as long as the UK remains in the EU. Only agreement on how to make the calculation can come this autumn.
Lastly, on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, the EU wants to ensure that no hard, physical border is put back in place as this would be damaging, for example, to economic life. The EU is committed to ensuring respect for and continuation of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which brought peace back to Northern Ireland. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)