Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator, and David Davis, the UK minister in charge of Brexit, have kicked off the negotiations nearly a year to the day after the referendum that led 52% of Britons to vote in favor of their country’s exit.
This first formal contact between “an early advocate of a ‘hard Brexit’” and the former European commissioner, chosen by the EU executive to negotiate on behalf of the 27, allowed for the finalization of the schedule and the working method.
Under the authority of these two delegation leaders, three groups of experts have been constituted, “in charge of three pressing issues.”
The first “will focus on the human aspects” and the fate “of the 3.2 million EU citizens residing in the UK and the 1.5 million Britons living in the 27 EU countries.”
The second will be responsible for settling the terms of the “Brexit bill.”
As for the third, “it will seek fair solutions for the issues related to establishing an EU external border with the third state that the UK will become after its withdrawal.”
Although directly concerned by this issue, Northern Ireland “is the subject of a separate dialogue according to a document on ‘terms of reference’ agreed upon by both parties and communicated Monday evening.”
Now set, the negotiation schedule also provides for new working sessions during the weeks of July 17, September 18, and October 9.
by Paternoster
