No smooth sailing for May in Brexit talks

The European Union set the scene for UK divorce process as the leaders of bloc’s remaining 27 countries unanimously signed off on their negotiating guidelines for the Brexit talks. It formally opens the way for discussions that will culminate with the UK leaving the bloc in March 2019 with or without a deal.
Although the talks on the terms of the separation will begin after UK elections in June, the negotiations are going to be the most complex, tough and confrontational as both the parties are sticking to their guns.
The EU leaders and May government appears to be on the collision course from early on. EU leaders priorities are to force Britain to settle its financial commitments, guarantee the rights of EU citizens living
in the UK, and sort out the border between the two Irelands. While EU said UK bill will be between 40 billion and 60 billion euros, May said that her country doesn’t owe the EU any money. She suggested that questions about the rights of EU citizens living in the UK could be settled at the EU summit in June.
While May insists Britain should be allowed to discuss free-trade deal with the European Union at the same time as it negotiates its
departure from the bloc, the EU said only when all 27 governments agree that “sufficient progress” has been made on divorce terms will they turn to a trade pact.
Given EU’s firm stand that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, it is not going to be possible for UK to cherry-pick the benefits of the bloc. EU leaders have launched scathing attacks against May and her government for misunderstanding the complexities of the negotiations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week that some in May’s government still harbor “illusions’’ they can win preferential treatment. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said May is living in another galaxy and had unrealistic expectations about how negotiations would proceed.
The EU adopts a tough posture to prove that leaving the bloc is hard and to ensure Britain covers its obligations. EU is quite mindful that the trade deal provides them with leverage given the assumption that the UK would suffer more than the EU if one wasn’t struck. But May has repeatedly said she wants to discuss the divorce and future trading relationship in tandem given the shortage of time. Doing so would also allow her to make trade-offs to secure market access, and to show voters at home that she was making a success of Brexit.
While May says that “Brexit means Brexit,’’ EU leaders want to project they have whip hand owing to its numbers and the right negotiating experience and would be calling the shots in the future negotiations. It is likely the EU’s united front will come under strain when negotiations get under way. But they have, so far, proved united in that approach and succeeded in fending off Britain’s attempt to divide and conquer. Even EU wants to maintain a close relationship with UK, but they won’t allow Britain to enjoy better terms outside the bloc fearing such concession could set a precedent that encourages others to leave.