Brexit: Theresa May set for clash with Brussels over the terms of transition period
- Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Paul Brand
Theresa May is headed for a clash with Brussels after EU leaders said the UK would have to obey its rules in full during the transition period - but cannot have any say on making new regulations.
Members of the bloc signed off a series of tight restrictions it plans to impose during Brexit at a meeting lasting just a couple of minutes this morning.
They said that the UK must obey all EU rules - including the free movement of people - until the transition period ends on 31 December 2020, but will not have any say in the bloc's decision-making bodies.
Leaders in Brussels are also insisting that Britain cannot sign any new trade deals until 2021 under trade rules.
Speaking in Brussels, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier insisted the UK could not pick and choose the rules it will follow.
Downing Street today said that "differences" remain between London and Brussels over the nature of the Brexit transition period.
Mrs May was facing fresh pressure from Brexiteers within her party, who said that she must reject the "ultimatum" set out by the EU ahead of talks over the final Brexit deal which are expected to last until March.
Mrs May's official spokesman told reporters that "there will naturally be some distance in the detail of our starting positions" for negotiations.
"I think there is broad agreement on the principle of an implementation period being in the interests of both sides, but on the specific detail you would expect there to be some differences," said the spokesman.
"That is obviously what will be negotiated."
The spokesman gave no indication of where Number 10 expects the points of friction to arise during transition negotiations.
To the consternation of Brexiteers, the Government has already indicated it is willing to comply with most of the EU's demands to secure what ministers refer to as an "implementation period".
Meanwhile, in Brussels, leaders have been presenting a united front as they said indicated they were not ready to compromise.
In a statement released after the Brussels meeting, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said: "EU ministers have given a clear mandate to the Commission on what is the type of transition period that we envisage: full EU acquis to be applied in the UK and no participation in the EU institutions and decision-making.
"The 27 adopted the text speedily today and we hope an agreement on this with the UK can also be closed swiftly."
But Brexit Secretary David Davis indicated in a speech last week that the UK will insist on a mechanism allowing it to challenge the application of any new EU laws which come into effect during the "implementation period".
The Prime Minister is facing increasingly vocal complaints from Leavers in her own party that she is preparing to deliver a Brexit "in name only".
And she came under attack from the Labour chairman of the Commons Exiting the EU committee, Hilary Benn, who said it was "extraordinary and unacceptable" that the Government had so far failed to spell out exactly what it wants from Brexit negotiations.
Downing Street declined to comment on reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had told reporters in a private meeting that whenever she asks Mrs May what she is seeking, the Prime Minister responds: "Make me an offer."
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