EU chief says Brexit talks "likely" to start early next year

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UK is expected to launch formal talks to leave the European Union in January or February next year, one of Europe’s top leaders said after a special summit without Britain, aimed at rallying the bloc battered by Brexit and the migration crisis, The Guardian says.

The European council president, Donald Tusk, said the British prime minister, Theresa May, had told him article 50 was likely to be triggered in January or February next year, dashing remain voters’ hopes of delaying the UK’s departure from the EU.

The British government was also sent a stark warning not to expect any compromise on the EU’s cherished principle of free movement of people if it wants access to the single market.

Speaking of his meeting with May in London last week, Tusk said the prime minister had been open and honest about her difficulties in launching EU exit talks this year.

“She declared that it was almost impossible to trigger article 50 this year but it’s quite likely that they will be ready, maybe in January, maybe in February, next year.” He said the rest of the EU was ready to start negotiations tomorrow.

Standing at his side, Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European commission, vowed there would be no compromise on free movement of workers. “This is not a game,” he said. “It is about the rights of ordinary people, of workers in Europe, so I can’t see any possibility of compromising on that very issue.”

A Downing Street source, however, said on Saturday that May did not specifically mention January or February at the meeting, and that Tusk’s comments were an interpretation of their conversation.

The PM “recognises the need to deliver on the public verdict without delay”, the source said, according to The Guardian.