Charles Michel on Brexit: “To make decisions for two we must be clear to each-other”

Charles Michel on Brexit: “To make decisions for two we must be clear to each-other”

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Friday urged the United Kingdom to be clearer in the solutions it proposes to settle its exit from the EU, following the Leave vote in the referendum in June 2016 on Brexit. The intervention of Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday night (19 October) at the dinner of heads of state and government at the European Summit in Brussels did not clarify the British position, according to the Michel.

"It is a difficult negotiation, we are aware of it, everyone must show good will," commented the Belgian Prime Minister on his arrival on the second day of the summit, which could partly be seen in the light of the state of progress of negotiations between EU-27 and UK..

"Last night, everything was not clear, especially as regards the financial issue and citizen rights," he explained "Clarity is crucial for the families of European citizens."

EU demands "enough progress" on three issues before starting to discuss future relations between the EU and UK: guaranteeing the rights of European citizens in UK after Brexit, the divorce bill, and the question of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The British government, for its part, insists on discussing the future trade partnership from the very start of the negotiations and objects against paying too much - unofficial estimates of the cost of Brexit for UK range from 60 to 100 billion euros - to settle the accounts.

"There is a clear vision on the European side of what solutions should be, but we do not have clear answers from the British”, Charles Michel noted.


The Brussels Times


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