Britain accepted the European Union's (EU) timetable for Brexit talks on Monday, in an apparent climbdown on the first day of formal negotiations in Brussels.
THERE WAS no escaping the symbolism of the gifts exchanged by Brexit Secretary David Davis and European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier at the start of the talks. Italy's La Stampa newspaper ridiculed him for "throwing in the towel" on the first day of talks as he gave...
Professor Portes said the other European Union leaders will welcome the change in tone but are unlikely to be more conciliatory in turn. "It's not the other way around". "It's not about punishment, it is not about revenge", Barnier said.
"And the consequences are substantial".
Asked if he had given any ground to Britain, Mr Barnier said: "I am not in a frame of mind to make concessions, or ask for concessions".
Britain has less than two years to negotiate the terms of the divorce and the outlines of the future relationship before it is due to leave in late March 2019.
"My impression is that the European Union is in a much stronger position and I heard there was no concept behind what David Davis is doing", a senior German official involved in Brexit preparations said in Berlin yesterday.
Just a month ago, Davis had predicted "the row of the summer" would erupt over how to structure the talks on Brexit.
This agenda seems to have been set by the European Union since the British government had wanted to also focus on trade and the future relationship between the two by running parallel negotiations on them alongside the other issues.
United Kingdom government's priority is to win best possible Brexit deal
The Queen said: "My government's priority is to secure the best possible deal as the country leaves the European Union". May called the snap general election in a bid to strengthen her mandate heading into the Brexit talks.
"In the first step, we will deal with the most pressing issues".
Davis said Britain hadn't backed down.
But with business groups warning of lasting harm if the economy is deprived of foreign labour, Hammond on Tuesday said that "while we seek to manage migration, we do not seek to shut it down". But it must be done in a way that works for Britain.
The move backfired, May lost her Conservative majority in the vote and has been fending off critics of her leadership ever since.
Mr Davis said he was optimistic about the process and the British appeared upbeat about the prospects of trade talks beginning before the final details of divorce proceedings had been agreed. They both served as Europe ministers-for France and Britain, respectively-at the same time during the 1990s.
The EU and United Kingdom negotiators agreed to have one week of negotiations every month, while using the time in between to work on proposals and exchange them. "There will be no hostility on my side".
Whatever happens with interest rates and in the Brexit talks, credit ratings agency DBRS says uncertainty "is likely to adversely impact the economy and the fiscal accounts".
The most senior officials on either side will lead work on efforts to resolve the problem of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a situation Mr Barnier acknowledged was "politically sensitive" at a time when the Tory government was seeking the support of the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up Mrs May's minority government.
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