The EU’s chief negotiator has summoned the UK’s Brexit secretary, David Davis, to Brussels for crisis talks over his concern that despite weeks of discussions major differences remain over the transition period, including its end date.
Following a meeting with EU ministers to discuss the state of the Brexit negotiations, Michel Barnier told reporters he was deeply worried that significant differences between the two sides were not being settled.
The commission official said the EU had stipulated that the transition period would last 21 months but that the UK wanted to keep the end date open, a claim Whitehall officials strenuously denied last week.
“We have not achieved the transition yet… I am quite happy to discuss these matters straight away with David Davis,” he said.
“It is essential we make progress by means of political discussions, political negotiations, above and beyond all the technical points of clarification, which we are working on at the moment. Just yesterday together with the UK I made it clear that we do need to make progress ... In many cases, there have been no negotiations, which is a matter of concern for me”.
On the end date for the transition period, Barnier told reporters: “Logically enough we want it to end on 31 December 2020 at same times as the MFF [seven-year budget]. The UK it seems would like to keep this open ended, which is not possible.”
Davis has been notable for his absence from Brussels in recent months, leaving negotiationslargely in the hands of officials led by Downing Street’s senior Brexit adviser, Olly Robbins.
In the last week, the Brexit secretary has been meeting ministers in Austria, Poland and Greece.
The Guardian understands Barnier made a pointed joke in his meeting with the European affairs ministers earlier in the day that Davis “seems to have a lot of time to see the 27 capitals – but it would be nice to see him here too”.
Barnier also said the commission was now backing the European parliament’s position that it would be unacceptable for EU citizens arriving in the UK during the transition period to be treated differently to those already in the country, a demand of the prime minister’s.
The UK wants an agreement on the terms of the transition period by the time of a European council meeting at the end of March but, with significant issues remaining open, doubts are growing in Brussels that the time frame can be met.
Barnier told reporters the commission would publish the draft withdrawal agreement on Wednesday, including legal text on the transition period and on how a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will be avoided.
The document of 168 legal articles across 120 pages will focus on the solution under which Northern Ireland would effectively stay within the single market and customs union, while keeping open the possibility of other options emerging over time.
Barnier said: “We are happy to work in parallel on all the solutions, but as things stand here and now our responsibility is to ensure that in the withdrawal agreement we are able to render operational solutions which would make it possible for us to honour the commitment we have entered into vis-a-vis the Good Friday agreement.”
Asked about comments by the UK’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, in which he suggested the border issue could be dealt with by a system similar to that used to collect the congestion charge in London, Barnier was dismissive. “What counts here is what the British prime minister says”, he said.
On the future relationship, Barnier said he agreed with the comments of Donald Tusk, the European council president, last week that the policy of “managed divergence” agreed by the cabinet in Chequers last week was not viable.
It is understood that representatives from Germany and France stressed to Barnier during his earlier meeting that the guidelines that the EU agrees at a summit by leaders at the end of March should be “short and broad” although they will throw more light on hopes for future ties on security, foreign policy as well as agreements on aviation and fisheries.
“This has the advantage of not ruling anything out, so allowing the UK position to mature, but it also means we are not second-guessing the UK position and doing their work for them,” said one senior diplomat. A draft text will be issued to European diplomats on Monday, kicking off a fortnight of discussions.
Barnier, however, warned the EU ministers of the 27 that there was “no sugar-coating it – time is short”.
