[Brexit negotiations]: UK Prime Minister and Ministers make bilateral visits to EU Member States, July-August 2018

Author (Person)
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Series Title
Series Details July-August 2018
Publication Date August 2018
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As part of the attempt by the United Kingdom (UK) to negotiate an agreement to leave the European Union (EU) the UK Prime Minister Theresa May and a number of her senior ministers toured a range of other EU Member States in July and August 2018 to have bilateral meetings with their equivalents.

These meetings included:

Theresa May
+ Prime Minister Juri Ratas of Estonia: 27 July 2018
+ Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria: 27 July 2018
+ Prime Minister Andrej Babis of the Czech Republic: 27 July 2018

Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary
+ Visit to Berlin for talks with the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, 23 July 2018
+ Visit to Finland, Latvia, Denmark and the Netherlands, to meet their respective Foreign Ministers, 14-16 August 2018
+ Speech in Washington, 21 August 2018

David Lidington, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
+ Paris, August 2018

Sajid Javid, Home Secretary
+ Madrid, July 2018

Greg Clarke, Business Scretary
+ Paris, 24 July 2018
+ Lisbon, 25 July 2018
+ Rome, 26 July 2018
+ Vienna, 14 August 2018
+ Helsinki, 15 August 2018

Background information

To see a full timeline of the Brexit negotiations click here.

By July 2018 the main formal negotiations were the EU-UK Article 50 negotiations between UK (led by the new Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Dominic Raab) and EU (led by Michel Barnier) officials. During the bilateral meetings organised by the UK in other European capitals, the latest EU-UK Article 50 negotiations took place in Brussels 24-26 July 2018. Mr Barnier suggested that the other EU member States (EU27) were united behind him in a coordinated way and that the UK would not be able to 'divide and rule'.

Mr Barnier also authored an op-ed article published in twenty European newspapers on the 2 August An ambitious partnership with the UK after Brexit in which he said:

Let's be frank: as the UK has decided to leave the Single Market, it can no longer be as close economically to the rest of the EU. The UK wants to leave our common regulatory area, where people, goods, services and capital move freely across national borders. These are the economic foundations on which the EU was built. ...

The UK knows well the benefits of the Single Market. It has contributed to shaping our rules over the last 45 years. And yet, some UK proposals would undermine our Single Market which is one of the EU's biggest achievements. The UK wants to keep free movement of goods between us, but not of people and services. And it proposes to apply EU customs rules without being part of the EU's legal order. Thus, the UK wants to take back sovereignty and control of its own laws, which we respect, but it cannot ask the EU to lose control of its borders and laws'.

In a further article published on the 2 September 2018 in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Mr Barnier further expressed his opposition to key elements of the proposals contained within the White Paper.

Earlier in 2018 the UK had issued some key negotiating documents:

+ White Paper: The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, July 2018
+ Policy Paper: Framework for the UK-EU partnership: Civil judicial cooperation, June 2018
+ Policy Paper: Framework for the UK-EU Security Partnership, May 2018.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://www.europeansources.info/
Related Links
UK: GOV.UK: Prime Minister's Office: Press Release, 27.07.18: PM meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babis of the Czech Republic: 27 July 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-prime-minister-andrej-babis-of-the-czech-republic-27-july-2018
UK: GOV.UK: Prime Minister's Office: Press Release, 28.07.18: PM meeting with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria: 27 July 2018 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-chancellor-sebastian-kurz-of-austria-27-july
ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/
UK: GOV.UK: FCO: Press Release, 23.07.18: Foreign Secretary visits Berlin for talks with the German Minister for Foreign Affairs https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-visits-berlin
The Guardian, 21.07.18: May sends cabinet on mini-breaks to Europe to sell her Brexit deal https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/21/brexit-chequers-deal-eu-deadline-summer
Chatham House: Expert Comment, 27.07.18: Theresa May Needs to Learn to Speak European https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/theresa-may-needs-learn-speak-european
The Guardian, 02.09.18: Michel Barnier says he strongly opposes May's Brexit trade proposals https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/02/michel-barnier-strongly-opposes-may-brexit-trade-proposals
The Guardian, 29.07.18: Tory ministers to head across Europe selling May's Brexit strategy https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/29/brexit-tory-ministers-face-constituency-backlash-chequers-deal
Politico, 28.07.18: Austria's Sebastian Kurz tells Theresa May to avoid 'hard Brexit' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44975696
ECFR: Commentary, 01.08.18: Mimicking membership: London’s need for a new coalition-building strategy https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_mimicking_membership_londons_need_for_a_new_coalition_building_s
Politico, 21.08.18: Jeremy Hunt: No-deal Brexit imperils ‘extremely vulnerable’ Europe https://www.politico.eu/article/jeremy-hunt-no-deal-brexit-imperils-extremely-vulnerable-europe/
Open Europe, 01.08.18: Will Chequers increase pressure on the EU to make the next move? https://openeurope.org.uk/today/blog/will-chequers-increase-pressure-on-the-eu-to-make-the-next-move/
Politico, 14.08.18: Jeremy Hunt: Commission must change Brexit approach https://www.politico.eu/article/jeremy-hunt-commission-must-change-no-deal-brexit-approach/
UK: GOV.UK: FCO: Press Release, 14.08.18: Foreign Secretary to discuss Brexit with 4 European allies https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-to-discuss-brexit-with-four-european-allies
EurActiv, 14.08.18: UK FA minister on Brexit: ‘There is absolutely no guarantee that we will get a deal’ https://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/british-foreign-minister-on-brexit-there-is-absolutely-no-guarantee-that-we-will-get-a-deal/
Politico, 02-03.08.18: Brexit deal off the menu at May-Macron summit https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-negotiation-deal-off-the-menu-at-may-macron-summit/
The Guardian, 02.08.18: UK's Brexit proposals threaten future of EU, says Barnier https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/02/uks-brexit-proposals-threaten-future-of-eu-says-barnier
European Commission: News: Article, 02.08.18: An ambitious partnership with the UK after Brexit https://ec.europa.eu/commission/news/ambitious-partnership-uk-after-brexit-2018-aug-02_en
UK: GOV.UK: Speech, 29.08.18: Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gives the MEDEF Keynote address https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-of-the-duchy-of-lancaster-gives-the-medef-keynote-address
Politico, 04-06.09.18: Brussels issues démarche on alleged British divide-and-rule tactic https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-michel-barnier-dominic-raab-brussels-warns-diplomats-against-uks-brexit-divide-and-rule-scheme/
UK: GOV.UK: Press Release 16.08.18: Positive response from EU needed to secure our continent's shared prosperity https://www.gov.uk/government/news/positive-response-from-eu-needed-to-secure-our-continents-shared-prosperity
In Facts, 09.08.18: Mad dogs and English(wo)men go out in the midday sun https://infacts.org/mad-dogs-and-englishwomen-go-out-in-the-midday-sun/
BBC News, 17.08.18: Hunt clarifies no-deal comments: UK 'would survive' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-45216061

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