The real costs of Brexit begin to sink in
By European Movement International
This Friday, the EU27 heads of state or governments convene in Brussels in the margins of the European Council to approve the draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU and endorse the guidelines that set the ground for the bloc’s relationship with the UK after Brexit.
EU leaders are also expected to approve a transition period lasting until the end of 2020, which would maintain a certain ‘status quo’ and give businesses, governments and citizens more time to prepare. This, however, does not change the fact that the UK faces an uncertain future without any trade deals with the EU in place beyond 2020. Meanwhile, it has also become painfully clear that the UK needs to make many more concessions to the EU to manoeuver around a no-deal outcome.
Earlier this week, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the British Brexit secretary David Davis advanced negotiations by partially agreeing on the withdrawal terms, including areas such as citizens’ rights, the financial settlement and the transition period. However, to use Michel Barnier’s words of last week, “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” and many crucial areas still await solutions. These include the Irish border and the future role of the European Court of Justice. Following multiple delays and setbacks since the UK triggered Article 50, the EU is running out of options to enable a soft Brexit.