Brexit: what’s on the agenda for marathon Raab-Barnier talks?
The UK and EU negotiators are going head to head in six-hour standoff in Brussels today
UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier will hold six hours of talks in Brussels today, as the clock runs down on Britain’s exit from the EU.
The session is the “longest face-to-face session held between the two men since they agreed to accelerate talks in a desperate effort to hammer out an agreement” and thereby avoid a no-deal Brexit, reports the Daily Mail.
Raab is understood to have been unhappy with the reality of Barnier’s pledge of being available for Brexit talks “24/7”. The Guardian says that Barnier has been “resistant to requests for lengthy meetings with Raab to discuss the details of the UK’s proposals”, which were formalised at Chequers last month.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As the two finally sit down together, what’s on the talks agenda?
A la carte?
Today’s meeting comes two days after the most senior member of Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet, David Lidington, called for the EU to back the PM’s Brexit plan or “risk a no deal scenario”.
In response, Barnier stressed that the EU was “prepared to offer Britain a partnership such as there never has been with any other third country” and that the bloc “respect[s] Britain’s red lines scrupulously”. However, he added that “in return, they must respect what we are”.
“Single market means single market ... There is no single market a la carte,” he warned.
Despite his demands, Barnier appeared to hint at a “climbdown” by the EU earlier this week, when he said that the final deal could “be unique for Britain - not based entirely on the Norway or Canadian models negotiated in the past”, the Daily Mail reports.
Deadline creep
According to the BBC, Barnier and Raab are “hoping to agree a divorce deal and a statement on future trading relations” before an EU summit on 17 October.
Raab told a Lords committee on Wednesday that he had a “good professional and personal rapport” with Barnier and that he was “confident that a deal is within our sights”.
But the Brexit secretary admitted that the October deadline may slip, and that there was a “possibility it may creep beyond that”.
Withdrawal bill
The Guardian says that Raab “struck an upbeat note throughout most of the 90-minute questioning” by the Lords EU Committee.
However, “he appeared to question whether Britain would consider itself bound to pay the almost £40bn financial settlement it agreed to last December if a final deal is not forthcoming by March”, the newspaper adds.
“I don’t think it could be safely assumed on anyone’s side that the financial settlement that has been agreed as part of the withdrawal bill would then just be paid, in precisely the same shape or speed or rate, if there was no deal,” Raab said.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
4 ways to give back this holiday season
The Explainer If your budget is feeling squeezed, remember that money is not the only way you can be generous around the holidays
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
4 tips for hosting an ecofriendly Thanksgiving
The Week Recommends Coming together for the holidays typically produces a ton of waste, but with proper preparation, you can have an environmentally friendly gathering.
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Was Georgia's election stolen?
Today's Big Question The incumbent Georgian Dream party seized a majority in the disputed poll, defying predictions
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Moldova backs joining EU in close vote marred by Russia
Speed Read The country's president was also pushed into a runoff election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why is Germany cracking down on migration?
Today's Big Question New border rules test the European Union
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published