The contours of a possible Brexit deal are now clear, so divorce talks between Britain and the European Union are at a crucial juncture, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Monday.
"We've shared a lot of detail and the contours of a deal are now very clear," Raab told BBC radio ahead a meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU leaders in Luxembourg Monday.
"I think this is an important milestone; the prime minister is building on the previous talks that we've had since he came to office."
"Our requirements are very clear: we want to remove the anti-democratic backstop and we want to be able to transition our future relationship to a best in class free trade agreement," Raab said.
He added that the Oct. 17-18 EU summit was where Britain hoped to seal a deal.
"That's the place where a deal can be done," Raab said. He added that if a deal was not possible, Britain would still leave on Oct. 31.
Also Monday, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said Britain's departure from the European Union will be delayed again because Prime Minister Boris Johnson's attempt to do a last minute deal with Brussels will be rejected by parliament.
"At the Oct. 17-18 EU summit, there will be some give from the European Union and Boris will bring it back to parliament before Oct. 31 and, I suspect, fail to get it through," Brexit Party leader Farage told Reuters in an interview.
"So we won't leave on the 31st of October and then we are really into uncharted waters - whether parliament imposes a second referendum or we have a general election, I really don't know," said Farage, 55.
Reuters
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.