EU agrees to move Brexit talks to second phase

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

EU leaders have agreed to move Brexit negotiations to a second phase, two top officials confirmed Friday.

“EU leaders agree to move on to the second phase of #Brexit talks," European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted Friday morning.

Tusk expressed his congratulations to British Prime Minister Theresa May.

The announcement by Tusk came ahead of a joint news conference with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker to announce developments in the divorce talks between Britain and the EU.

Tusk confirmed the second phase of talks will start in March after sufficient progress in the first phase.

It is time to start “exploratory contacts” with the U.K. for a future trade deal, Tusk said. He said the second phase of talks will be "more demanding".

The second phase will focus on future trade relations between the parties and will be dominated by talks over a proposed transition period, during which Britain will continue to abide by EU law without any decision-making powers.

Juncker said the negotiations will commence in March but did not say when they can be concluded.

A deal, despite a rejection by Northern Irish unionist party the DUP, was reached between the U.K. and the bloc last week to move the talks forward after the sides agreed on a financial settlement, citizens’ rights and the Irish border -- three key issues in the first phase.

“In order to ensure a level playing field based on the same rules applying throughout the Single Market, changes to the acquis adopted by EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies will have to apply both in the United Kingdom and the EU,” guidelines published by the European Council said.

“All existing Union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures will also apply, including the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

“As the United Kingdom will continue to participate in the Customs Union and the Single Market (with all four freedoms) during the transition, it will have to continue to comply with EU trade policy, to apply EU customs tariff and collect EU customs duties, and to ensure all EU checks are being performed on the border vis-à-vis other third countries.”

Theresa May described the move as an important step.

“Thank you to Presidents @JunckerEU and @donaldtusk. Today is an important step on the road to delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit and forging our deep and special future partnership,” she tweeted.

“Today is a good day for Brexit and an important step for Britain,” Brexit secretary David Davis said.

“Thanks to hard work and determination, we have reached an important milestone and have achieved #sufficientprogress. There is still lots of work to come but we are ready for the next stage,” Davis tweeted.

“The European Council will continue to follow the negotiations closely and will adopt additional guidelines in March 2018, in particular as regards the framework for the future relationship. It calls on the United Kingdom to provide further clarity on its position on the framework for the future relationship,” the European Council said.

The U.K. is set to leave the bloc in March 2019, ending its 44-year membership.