May Calls for Two-Year Brexit Transition Period -- Update
September 22 2017 - 12:51PM
Dow Jones News
By Jason Douglas in Florence, Italy, Valentina Pop in Brussels and Stephen Fidler in London
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K. would honor its
financial commitments to the European Union's current budget and
seek to keep trading with the bloc on current terms for a two-year
period after its planned exit in 2019, in a speech aimed at
revitalizing stalled divorce talks with the EU.
In a grand hall overlooking Florence's famed Church of Santa
Maria Novella, Mrs. May appealed for creativity and ambition from
negotiators working to untangle the U.K.'s four-decade ties to the
EU and craft a new partnership built on economic and security
cooperation.
Britain's exit from the EU, scheduled for March 2019, "does not
mean we are turning our back on Europe, or worse that we do not
wish the EU to succeed," Mrs. May said, in an address that comes
ahead of the resumption of exit talks between London and Brussels
on Monday.
Those talks have made only limited progress since they began in
the summer and remain focused on three key issues: EU citizens'
rights after Brexit, managing the Irish border with Britain, and
reaching a deal on the U.K.'s financial commitments to the EU that
haven't yet been paid.
Mrs. May touched on each of those issues, saying London doesn't
want to see the return of border between Ireland and Northern
Ireland and that British courts will uphold EU citizens' rights
after Brexit.
She also pledged that the U.K. would honor financial commitments
to the bloc made during its membership.
"I do not want our partners to fear that they will need to pay
more or receive less over the remainder of the current budget plan
as a result of our decision to leave," Mrs. May said. The current
EU budget plan runs from 2014 to 2020.
Her official spokesman later told reporters this pledge covers
budgetary commitments through 2020 -- but that other potential
liabilities, such as contributions to paying the pensions of EU
staff, remain subject to negotiation.
A senior EU official said that if the budget offer were to be
put on paper, it might advance talks next week. "But it's not
enough for sufficient progress, that's still a long way to go," the
official said.
Mrs. May also suggested a two-year "implementation period" would
be needed after the U.K.'s planned withdrawal in 2019 for both
sides to prepare for new trading relations. She said that during
this time, "access to one another's markets should continue on
current terms," though she added the U.K. wants to be free during
the transition to seek new trade deals.
Mrs. May's speech was also aimed at presenting the EU with a
coherent British position on Brexit after months of public
disagreements between senior government officials. Present at the
speech were Treasury chief Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson, who fought on opposite sides of the campaign to pull
the U.K. out of the EU and have recently put forward differing
views on Brexit strategy.
But she didn't provide many new clues about her long-term
vision. She repeated that the U.K. would leave the EU's single
market and its customs union. But she said neither an arrangement
such as membership of the European Economic Association, like
Norway, or a more remote Canada-type free trade arrangement would
suit the U.K.
A Canada-style agreement would "represent such a restriction on
our mutual market access that it would benefit neither of our
economies," she said.
One of the EU officials described her view of the future
relationship as "have our cake and eat it."
German EU lawmaker Manfred Weber, who chairs the largest group
in the European Parliament, tweeted that "in substance, PM May is
bringing no more clarity to London's positions. I am even more
concerned now." He reiterated EU's position that citizens living in
the U.K. "need legal certainty" and warned London that "time is
running faster than the government believes."
Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, noted the
"constructive spirit" of Mrs. May's speech. But he also said Mrs.
May hadn't clarified proposals on Ireland.
Write to Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com, Valentina Pop
at valentina.pop@wsj.com and Stephen Fidler at
stephen.fidler@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2017 12:36 ET (16:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.