The EU has agreed to switch to the last phase of Brexit talks

Theresa Could additionally in Brussels
Getty

• The EU concurs its negotiating guidelines for the last
  phase of Brexit talks.
• Britain is as a result of move the EU in only over one years’s
  time.
• EU leaders are space to rubber price the terms of the
  Brexit transition.
• Could additionally celebrates certain « progess » on a Brexit
  deal.

LONDON — EU leaders contain agreed to switch Brexit talks into the
last phase after agreeing their negotiating guidelines for the
next round of talks.

The 27 leaders met in Brussels nowadays to formally adopt
negotiating guidelines for talks on the long lumber UK-EU
relationship, and agree to a 21-month transition duration when
Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019.

The guidelines, which were leaked to Business Insider earlier
this week, space out the political terms of the withdrawal
agreement and
call for circulation from Britain on the Northern Eire border and
the methodology forward for Gibraltar.

Additionally they scream that any free trade handle the UK would perchance be
dependent on Britain affirming « existing reciprocal in discovering entry to to
fishing waters and resources, » which is
vastly controversial amongst many Brexit-supporting Conservative
MPs.

Earlier this week plenty of Conservative MPs attended a advise in
which damaged-down UKIP leader Nigel Farage
tossed ineffective fish into the Thames originate air parliament in
advise at Could additionally’s agreement to get rid of contemporary EU fishing principles
all via the Brexit transitino.

On the replacement hand, no topic this row, Downing Avenue are contented total
that negotiations are progressing. Ahead of the meeting, Theresa
Could additionally told reporters: « Now we contain made factual progress on the withdrawal
agreement.

She added: « But additionally I’m shopping for a brand contemporary dynamic within the subsequent
stage of the negotiations in divulge that we would perchance simply additionally make certain that we live
produce, that we work collectively to present, a real future
financial and security partnership which I take into accout is within the
curiosity of the UK and the European Union. »

EU leaders cautiously welcomed the agreement.

« Chuffed by agreement on transitional association for the
UK and adoption of guidelines for future EU-UK relationship, »
Danish high minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen tweeted.

He added: « Composed a protracted methodology to switch and puny time to attain
last agreement on advanced issues. Nothing is agreed till
everything is agreed. »

The announcement caps a a hit week of diplomacy for Could additionally
after she secured the enhance of her fellow EU leaders following
the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

The EU leaders agreed with Could additionally that it is « highly likely » that
Russia became on the back of the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury,
England earlier this month.

In a commentary, the European Council of EU leaders agreed
that « there might perchance be not any plausible replacement clarification » than that
Russia were to blame.

The commentary added: « We stand in unqualified cohesion
with the United Kingdom within the face of this grave articulate to
our shared security. »

The EU has also withdrawn its ambassador from Russia for
« consultations » on the articulate