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Exclusive: ‘Patience of EU27 is wearing thin,’ Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier tells @welt – but signals #Brexit compromise. Main take-aways of our interview (thread) welt.de/politik/auslan…
1/ General readiness by EU27 to extend Art 50. But EU27 will ask for what. ‘Aim mustn’t be to postpone solving the problem but to solve it’
2/ Any extension ‚is extension of uncertainty for citizens and business on both sides‘
3/ Extension would have to be agreed by EU Council, i.e. won’t happen before March 21. Needs anonymity of EU27.
4/ Barnier confirms extension could cause legal problems if UK still EU member during EU elections May 23-26. ‘UK has rights and obligations as a member’
5/ Re backstop Barnier knows of “mistrust in UK’. Therefore 27 ‘ready to give more guarantees, confirmation, clarification that backstop is only temporary’
6/ EU27 will not allow time limited backstop or unilateral exit though. ‘What is possible is assurance that the event of the backstop is limited by an agreement on future relations’
7/ Assurance could be ‚document like letter by Tusk/Juncker’ jointly agreed with written assurance by UK gov ‘which together would have stronger force’
8/ Barnier refused giving exact form of document ‘This is currently negotiated. Substance has priority to legal format’
9/ Re PV: Corbyn told Barnier that he was going to announce support of PV when he was in Brussels last week already
10/ Re MV / March 12: ‘Things seem to move. This is the optimism of the patient. There will be a way.’
11/ Re Brexiters‘ criticism of him: ‘There has never been a spirit of punishment. No dogmatism. No ideology. Only the will to protect SM and peace in Ireland’
12/ ‘I do not lecture and have never lectured. I respect British politics. And I regret Brexit. That’s all I can say’
13/ ‚Brexit will cause damage. UK leaves the Union. Relations can only be less profound. But this is what Britain wants’
14/ Barnier did not answer if he wanted to continue managing Brexit in next EU Commission. ‘Will work as long as I can be useful. Will stay until end of Juncker mandate’
15/ ends & disclaimer: this is my personal non-native speaker summary of an interview done in French and published in German
