May sets out transition plan in a bid to unlock Brexit talks

UK’s Prime Minister Theresa May has set out a plan on Friday in order to retain the full access to the EU’s single market for two years after Brexit to try to reassure business and reset the tone of stalled negotiations with Brussels.

However her proposals for such a transition, in order to meet Britain’s financial obligations along with protecting EU citizens’ rights fell short of what the EU wanted.

Conversely the EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier praised the speech for its “constructive spirit” however he asked for more detail. Another official said it had left him “even more concerned”.

During a speech which was made at a 14th-century church in Florence, Italy, May had directly appealed to the EU leaders to unlock the talks, which have stalled over a series of issues, including the size of the bill Britain should pay as part of its divorce settlement.

She spent much of her 30-minute speech describing the similarities between Britain and the EU, saying that if the complicated talks to unravel more than 40 years of union should fail, the only beneficiaries would be those who oppose democracy, liberalism and free trade.

In the meantime the Sterling fell against both the dollar GBP= and the euro EURGBP= during May’s speech, weakening by more than half a cent against the U.S. currency.

Furthermore Late on Friday ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its assessment of Britain’s creditworthiness, saying Brexit was damaging the country’s medium-term growth prospects. The government said Moody’s view was “outdated” and did not consider May’s most recent comments.

“Clearly people, businesses and public services should only have to plan for one set of changes in the relationship between the UK and the EU,” May told an audience of Italian business leaders and diplomats.

“So during the implementation period, access to one another’s markets should continue on current terms, and Britain also should continue to take part in existing security measures.”

Britain wants to move the talks forward and start addressing how a future relationship with the EU would work, a move May’s government says is vital if they want to find agreement on the divorce bill.

But the EU has stood firm, refusing to discuss trading arrangements until “sufficient progress” is made on the first three issues – the financial settlement, the land border with EU member Ireland and the protection of expatriates’ rights.

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