‘Brexit talks are most likely to end in no deal’

BRITAIN crashing out of Europe without a safety net is the “most likely” outcome of the Brexit negotiations, the head of a Brussels think-tank has claimed.

European Policy Centre chief executive Fabian Zuleeg said it is increasingly likely that an agreement will not materialise with the remaining 27 EU countries before the March 2019 exit date.

He blamed this on the lack of a coherent position on what the UK wants from last year’s Leave vote.

The UK Government roundly rejected his “pessimistic view” of the talks.

But a paper summarising Dr Zuleeg’s views was shared on social media by the European Commission’s deputy chief negotiator Sabine Weyand, suggesting she agrees with his assessment.

Dr Zuleeg said: “No deal is by now the most likely outcome. This is driven by UK politics, where there is no majority for any specific outcome. Most likely, time will run out, so no deal by default, not design. The UK is not prepared at all for these negotiations.”

Both the Conservatives and Labour have been riven with internal divisions over how Brexit should look. Tory Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Liam Fox publicly traded blows over food standards this week, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow Home Secretary Dianne Abbott expressed different views on whether the UK should remain in the single market.

A spokeswoman for the UK Government’s Department for Exiting the European Union said: “We don’t accept this pessimistic view.

“Good progress has already been made in a number of areas and we will continue with the negotiations in a spirit of goodwill. Both the UK and the EU are determined to reach a deal because that is in everyone’s interest.”

The European Commission would not comment on the remarks made by Dr Zuleeg, a member of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s advisory council on Europe. But, in a speech earlier this month, lead negotiator Michel Barnier claimed “the UK would have more to lose than its partners” if no deal was to be struck.

Were talks to break down acrimoniously, both the UK and Europe would be hit by a series of new regulations.

If no agreement has been struck but both sides are still willing to talk, however, there would be the option of a transitional deal.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has suggested that free movement, access to the single market and an inability to strike trade deals with other countries could all continue for up to three years after Brexit.

A spokesman for Scottish Brexit Minister Mike Russell said: “As Dr Zuleeg has highlighted, there seems to be little or no understanding among senior Tories about the EU’s position and motives, which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in their negotiation abilities.”