Donald Tusk says the EU won’t pursue a punitive divorce settlement with the UK because Brexit is punitive enough.
Th
e European Council President said the UK will have to wait to start negotiating a trade deal until after the divorce deal has made sufficient progress.
And he said the idea Theresa May sought to use international terror security as a bargaining chip in the negotiations must be a misunderstanding.
In draft negotiation guidelines issued to the 27 remaining member states today, Mr Tusk announced a phased approach to negotiations.
He spoke firmly in a press conference in Valetta, Malta, insisting parallel negotiations will not happen.
He said: We treat [the principles announced today] as fundamental and will stand by them.
And he said reciprocal, enforceable guarantees must be agreed for EU citizens in the UK and British citizens abroad.
Here’s the main points of the negotiation guidelines at a glance
• Britain will not be allowed the same rights and benefits of the Single Market as a full member. There can be no cherry picking of the four freedoms.
• The Union will negotiate as a single entity – there will be no individual negotiations with member states
The objective of phase one of the negotiations will be to ensure an orderly withdrawal.
Priorities will be:
• To manage disentangling Britain from EU laws and treaties
• Providing clarity and certainty to businesses and citizens
• To arrange ‘reciprocal, enforceable’ guarantees to EU citizens in the UK and British citizens abroad
• Ensuring Britain complies with all financial obligations
• The EU will not accept a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Mr Tusk said the negotiations would be difficult, complex and somewhat confrontational.
And said he planned to visit Theresa May in London before the European Council meeting in April.