The British government is prepared to improve its offer to settle the budgetary balance for the country's withdrawal from the European Union, in exchange for guarantees from the 27 concerning a future bilateral trade agreement, several media sources reported on Tuesday 21 November.
The decision was reportedly made following a meeting the day before between the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, and members of her government, including the Brexit negotiator, David Davis, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Gove.
The British offer to the Twenty-Seven will rise from €20 to €40 billion. In exchange for this extra money, however, London is seeking guarantees from Brussels on the signature of a “good” agreement on the future trade relationship between the UK and the EU.
A new round of talks between London and the EU may be held next week, but this has not yet been confirmed.
On Monday 20 November, the 27 European affairs ministers of the EU, meeting for a 'General Affairs' Council ('article 50' format), took stock of the negotiations underway (see EUROPE 11908). The Estonian minister, Matti Maasikas, reported that his counterparts had not discussed preparations for the internal work to move to the second phase of negotiations, to focus on the transitional period and a free-trade agreement.
Maasikas stressed the tightness of the calendar. There are only a few weeks left to make progress that the 27 must deem satisfactory at the European summit of mid-December. The Minister considers that at this stage, it is too early to say whether the two sides will be able to move to the trade talks phase in December.
On Monday, the EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a public conference that the EU was prepared to offer the UK the “most ambitious” of trade agreements once it has left, as long as London respects strict European conditions.
As well as the financial settlement and the Irish question, the UK must state whether it intends to remain in compliance with European standards, on social or environmental matters, for instance, or move towards the less strict American model, Barnier warned. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)