"Awful Lot Of Progress" Made On First Day Of Brexit Talk As EU, UK Agree On Priorities, Timetable

The first day of official Brexit talks is over, and according to statements it appears to have been a useful session, even though the real work is only just starting. The highlights from Reuters:

• UK SOURCE SAYS GENERAL MOOD IN FIRST DAY OF BREXIT TALKS WAS "INCREDIBLY POSITIVE", MADE "AWFUL LOT OF PROGRESS" ON MANY AREAS


• UK SOURCE SAYS BOTH SIDES AGREED THE CLOCK WAS TICKING ON BREXIT AND NEED TO PUSH ON WAS IN BOTH SIDES" INTERESTS


• UK SOURCE SAYS BRITAIN STOOD BY DEMAND THAT TALKS ON FUTURE RELATIONSHIP RUN IN PARALLEL WITH TALKS ON BRITAIN"S WITHDRAWAL FROM EU


• BARNIER SAYS MEETING WITH DAVIS WAS IMPORTANT OPENING SESSION


• BARNIER SAYS CLOCK IS TICKING FOR BREXIT DEAL


• BARNIER SAYS WE MUST ENSURE BREXIT COMES IN ORDERLY MANNER


• BARNIER SAYS PROTECTION OF IRISH GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT AND MAINTAINING COMMON TRAVEL AREA MOST IMPORTANT OF IRISH BREXIT ISSUES


• BARNIER SAYS NEXT PHASE OF TALKS WILL BE ON FUTURE PARTNERSHIP

Among other things, the EU and UK have agreed on provisional dates for Brexit talks among the three negotiating groups, which are July 17, Sept 18 and Oct. 19, and will include talks on financial settlement and citizens" rights.

Reuters also notes that Britain has demanded for talks on the future relationship should run parallel with Brexit talks.

As noted earlier, here is a "simplified" summary of the ongoing EU-UK negotiations:

Brexit Reality: "Paying Any Exit Fee Is Absurd"

Via Mike Shedlock of MishTalk.com,

The EU demands the UK pay Brexit costs of €60 billion.

I have commented for months on the absurdity of pay such demands.

And that reality is finally hitting home.
 

Collision Course

Please consider U.K. May Be on Course for Early Clash With EU Over Brexit Costs.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s government looks set for an early clash with European Union leaders over the terms of Brexit as a report suggested it can leave the bloc without paying a financial settlement.

The Times newspaper on Saturday said government lawyers concluded there is no law or treaty to compel the U.K. to pay the bill EU officials have estimated at about 60 billion euros ($64 billion). That echoed a newly published finding of a House of Lords committee.

“Even though we consider that the U.K. will not be legally obliged to pay into the EU budget after Brexit, the issue will be a prominent factor in withdrawal negotiations,” Committee Chairwoman Kishwer Falkner said in a statement. “The government will have to set the financial and political costs of making such payments against potential gains from other elements of the negotiations.”

Haggling over how much Britain owes appears set to provide an early test of the formal negotiations, which May has pledged to invoke by the end of March. Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern became the first EU leader to put a value on the bill when he told Bloomberg last month that Britain should be charged about 60 billion euros.

That sparked anger from May’s Conservative Party, with former leader Iain Duncan Smith calling it “nonsense.” Trade Secretary Liam Fox has dismissed the idea of paying anything at all as “absurd.”

Upper Hand

The EU nannycrats have long insisted they have the upper hand in negotiations. The reality is the UK is not obliged to do anything, including a filing Article 50. The UK can tear up the treaty tomorrow and be done with it.

Walk Away

The primary problem in these negotiations is the EU nannycrat fools believe they can force the UK to pay ridiculous exit charges on top of other demands.

The ideal approach for the UK is to simply walk away. What can the EU possibly do that does not hurt the EU even more than it does the UK?

The sooner Theresa May sets the appropriate tone for negotiations the better off everyone will be.

I wrote about this long ago in Brexit Stacked Deck? Which Way? Don’t Negotiate, Just Leave!

Serious negotiations can only begin once Theresa May sets the proper tone. The proper tone is the UK is prepared to walk away and pay the EU nothing.