The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has welcomed Dominic Raab to Brussels with a thinly veiled critique of Theresa May’s Chequers plan and a 13-week deadline in which to solve the problem of the Irish border.
Appearing with Barnier for the first time in the Belgian capital, the new Brexit secretary, clutching a copy of the UK’s recently published Brexit white paper, called for more “vim, vigour and energy” in the troubled negotiations.
The former Foreign Office lawyer told reporters he was “looking forward to intensifying, heating up, the negotiations”, after stepping into the role following the resignation of David Davis over the paper, which sets out how the UK is in effect seeking to stay in the single market for goods by following a raft of EU laws.
The differing priorities between the two negotiators were clearly evident, however, as they stepped out in front of reporters together at the European commission headquarters.
While Raab conceded there were some “gaps” in the withdrawal agreement that needed to be filled, Barnier emphasised the “urgency” of finding a solution for the most thorny issue in that deal: avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Barnier told reporters: “We have a lot of work to do with our teams. There are, as you know, 13 weeks left, before the October European council. In this time, short time, we have two things to do. We must finalise the withdrawal agreement and we are not yet there on governance.
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