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https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/theresa-may-florence/540558/
I think the EU will state a loud No.
Guess all those promises about trade deals, new orgs and regulatory bodies, better deal and such and all could be done within the 2 year framework was complete BS.Theresa May reaffirmed her belief that “no deal is better than a bad deal” when it comes to Brexit, but added that she would like to try for one anyway—even if it means going beyond the March 2019 deadline. In a highly anticipated speech in Florence Friday, the British prime minister called for establishing a two-year “implementation period” after the U.K. formally leaves the EU, during which time the U.K. would continue to observe EU rules and access EU markets.
“Clearly people, businesses, and public services should only have to plan for one set of changes in the relationship between the U.K. and the EU,” May said. “The framework for this strictly time-limited period, which can be agreed under Article 50, would be the existing structure of EU rules and regulations.
On the divorce bill, May reaffirmed that the U.K. would honor the commitments it made to the bloc’s common budget when it was last finalized in 2013 (the budget is agreed to by all of the EU member states every seven years, with the current one spanning until 2020). Though May did not name a specific figure, U.K. officials have estimated it would cover approximately 20 billion euros—a sum markedly lower than the approximately 60 billion euros Brussels reportedly wants (the EU has also never named a specific figure, though economists have projected it could cost the U.K. anywhere between 20 billion to 100 billion euros).
The offer hasn’t come a moment too soon. After three months and three rounds of negotiations, the two parties have remained deadlocked over the major withdrawal issues, with both sides conceding after the last round of talks that “no decisive” progress had been made—an omission that prompted some EU negotiators to question if reaching a withdrawal agreement by October as planned was still possible.
I think the EU will state a loud No.