Britain and the EU agreed to focus the first stages of negotiations over Brexit on divorce proceedings from the bloc in a meeting that both sides hailed as constructive after an early concession from London on the sequence of talks.
The two sides agreed to prioritise negotiations on Britain’s exit bill and a settlement on rights for EU citizens living in the UK and Britons on the continent, in line with Brussels’ longstanding demands for the structure of the discussions.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, and David Davis, the UK Brexit minister, stressed after their talks in Brussels that an exit deal was achievable, but both conceded the talks were up against the clock, with Britain set to leave the EU in March 2019.
“For both the EU and the UK, a fair deal is possible and far better than no deal,” Mr Barnier told reporters at the close of Monday’s talks. “That is what I said to David today, that is why we will work all the time with the UK and never against the UK. There will be no hostility on my side.”
Mr Davis said the timetable for the talks was “ambitious but eminently achievable”. He rejected the idea that Britain had given way to the EU on sequence on day one, insisting nothing had changed despite prime minister Theresa May’s failure to secure a majority in the UK general election this month.
Monday’s talks marked the start of what will be one of the most politically sensitive international negotiations of modern times. As well as Britain’s exit bill and citizens’ rights, the other tricky issue in the early phase will be how to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Although Britain’s concession on the sequencing of talks may have little effect on the final settlement — the UK had wanted to hold divorce negotiations in parallel with those on a bilateral trade deal — it served to underline concerns in Whitehall that the government may have overestimated its leverage with Brussels.
Given that a disorderly departure from the EU would have greater impact on the British economy than on Europe’s, officials have warned that Brussels would have the upper hand in several aspects of the talks because of the limited time available to conclude a comprehensive exit deal.
Mr Davis insisted the important point was not how the process starts “but how it finishes”. But opposition politicians seized on the concession.
“David Davis said the row of the summer would be over the sequencing of Brexit talks, and one day in he has capitulated,” said Tim Farron, outgoing leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Asked whether the UK had now accepted the EU’s position that withdrawal issues had to take priority over trade talks, Mr Davis said his position remained that “the withdrawal process cannot be concluded without the future relationship also being taken into account, they should be agreed alongside each other”.
“Of course there are some issues we want to tackle as soon as possible,” he said.
The two sides agreed to set up three working groups covering the details of withdrawal: the financial settlement; citizens’ rights; and one dealing with other legal issues relating to “separation”.
Mr Davis confirmed the UK would present its offer on citizen rights next week.
There will be one week of negotiations every month, with a pause in between for technical work and consultations. Mr Davis said he hoped the “regular rhythm” of would help make progress rapidly.
Reflecting the sensitivity of the topic, questions over Northern Ireland are to be handled separately in a “dialogue” between deputy negotiators — one that London hopes will open the way to discussing matters relating to future trade and customs.
In a nod to the difficulty of that issue, Mr Davis said it took up more time “than anything else” in Monday’s talks. Mr Barnier said there was a “very very sensitive political dimension” that had to be considered in Belfast and London.
Mr Barnier and Mr Davis opened the day with a “plenary” meeting on the seventh floor of the European Commission’s Berlaymont building, accompanied by their full negotiating teams. That was followed by a brief one-to-one discussion and a working lunch in the 13th floor dining rooms, with half-a-dozen top negotiators. The menu included Belgian asparagus, red mullet and dessert of vacherin cake with wild strawberries.
The two chief negotiators knew each other as Europe ministers in the 1990s but have only met once since Britain’s referendum to leave the EU, which was held a year ago this week.
In a bid to build rapport, the two men exchanged gifts themed on their shared love of hill walking and hiking. Mr Davis brought a rare signed first edition of “Regards vers Annapurna”, a mountaineering classic recounting a French expedition to the Himalayas in 1950.
Mr Barnier in turn presented a traditional walking stick from Savoie, his home region of France, where he retreated at the weekend to “draw the strength and energy required for long hikes”.
“This first session was useful indeed to start off on the right foot as the clock is ticking,” Mr Barnier said at the close of Monday’s talks. “We must lift the uncertainty caused by Brexit.”
Mr Davis said he shared the EU’s preoccupation with the need to give certainty to EU nationals living in the UK, and British nationals living abroad, about their future rights.
“I am happy to report there is much common ground [on this point],” he said, adding that a detailed paper would be published on Monday.