Brexit Updates: Jean-Claude Juncker Criticizes U.K. Government for Lack of Seriousness in Negotiations
Jean-Claude Juncker has criticized U.K. Brexit negotiations for not having something satisfactory to offer.
Juncker, the European Commission president, has stressed that trade negotiations between the EU (European Union) and the U.K. cannot move forward unless the divorce bill is settled. To recall, the EU has previously said that it will not discuss trade issues with the U.K. until three issues in question are resolved.
"We need to be crystal clear that we will begin no negotiations on the new economic and trade relationship between the UK and the EU before all these questions are resolved ... that is the divorce between the EU and the UK," Juncker told the EU envoys who gathered in Brussels for an annual conference recently.
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The three issues in reference include the rights of EU citizens living in the UK post-Brexit, and the rights of the U.K. citizens in the EU; the decision on the Irish border; and the amount of a financial settlement between the EU and UK that must be met.
Juncker also criticized the draft of the U.K negotiating papers published earlier this month wherein the government led by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May claimed that London was responding seriously to the proposals detailed by the 27 EU states.
"I would like to be clear that I did read with the requisite attention all the papers produced by Her Majesty's government; I find none of them truly satisfactory. So there are huge numbers of questions that need to be settled," Juncker said.
It is not only Juncker who thinks that the U.K. government is not serious on the negotiating table. Head of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani also joined Juncker in exerting pressure on the U.K. government.
In a statement he released last night, Aug. 29, Tajani encourages May's government to come forward with clear proposals in order for talks and other issues to advance, including the U.K. government's call for no additional restrictions on goods already in the market in the U.K. and EU.
The U.K. is set to leave the EU in March 2019 after the majority of the British voted in favor of the country leaving the union via a referendum last year.
