EU says Brexit deal highly possible to come by end of 2018
European Union officials say a deal on Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc could be achieved by the end of the year and even sooner, adding that a no-deal Brexit would almost be no option.
“I have hope close to certainty that we will manage to reach an agreement both on exit and on best possible future relations ... I hope that it will be possible to avoid major losses on both sides,” European Council President Donald Tusk said on Saturday, adding, “We will try for it in October ... and I think there is a chance to have an accord by the end of the year.”
The comments came a day after European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that negotiations on Brexit had made considerable progress over the past days and that Britain and the EU could be well sure of reaching a deal on Brexit even by November.
Juncker, speaking to an Austrian newspaper on Friday, said a deal by October 17, when the EU holds its normal summit, would almost be not possible.
“We are not there yet. But our will to reach an understanding with the British government is unbroken,” he said, adding, “If not, then we will do it in November.”
The EU and Britain had hoped to reach a deal on Brexit by October. However, hopes for such an agreement were dashed last month during an informal EU summit in Austria where EU leaders criticized Britain’s proposals on trade and the future state of the border in Ireland.
Juncker said negotiations over the past few days had made a rapprochement between the EU and Britain possible. Diplomatic sources also revealed on Friday that the two sides were ready to make a major compromise on the Irish border issue.
The EU officials rejected claims that Britain and the EU could reach a divorce agreement and then postpone the release of a political declaration on future relations between Britain and its former European partners.
“You can’t absolutely keep separate the withdrawal treaty and the declaration of the future relationship between the United Kingdom and Europe,” said Juncker.
Britain is to officially leave the EU on March 29, 2019. The actual withdrawal from the bloc, however, will take place in 2021 and after a two-year transitional period.
Tusk, the EU council president, said Saturday that Britain can bring forward its departure date to the beginning of the next year.
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