EU’s Barnier Said to See Brexit Deal Taking 15 Months to Strike
- European Commission negotiator Barnier held Brussels seminar
- Officials stick to no negotiation without notification stance
Michel Barnier
Photographer: Marlene Awaad/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The European Commission’s Brexit negotiator suggested at a briefing with the region’s governments that they only have a small window of time to seal a Brexit deal once talks begin.
Michel Barnier held a meeting Tuesday in Brussels about the upcoming negotiations and discussed a possible timeline. The need for the European Parliament to approve divorce terms means that any deal must be concluded by the second half of 2018 if U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May triggers two years of talks by the end of March, according to a government official present. A spokesperson for the Commission declined to comment.