'Respect OUR red lines!' Barnier fires Brexit warning shot as he arrives at Downing Street
MICHEL Barnier has arrived at Downing Street for crunch talks with David Davis and Theresa May after telling the British Government it must respect the EU’s Brexit red lines during upcoming talks.
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator was pictured being arriving at Downing Street at lunchtime, where he was greeted by his British counterpart David Davis ahead of a working lunch.
Theresa May is expected to join the pair for lunch ahead of a major week for Brexit talks.
Speaking as he left Brussels for London this morning, Mr Barnier said both the EU and the UK have not a minute to lose in Brexit talks as he revealed he has a busy week ahead before Brexit talks resume.
Mr Barnier said: “There’s so much work so for this reason we have decided to accelerate all the useful contacts.
“I will be in London today, tomorrow in Strasburg to get the European Parliament. I will be in Frankfurt on Wednesday to meet Draghi and the European Central Bank.
“I will be meeting national governments, trade unions and business communities.
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“We want a deal respecting the guidance of the European Council, respecting the rules of the single market and the euro.”
Downing Street has insisted Britain will "categorically" leave the customs union amid growing rumours of a major Cabinet split over the closeness of the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
The pair will lock horns in the UK before Britain's Brexit team and Mr Barnier head back to Brussels for Tuesday's round of discussions as EU officials begin talks on the transitional arrangements.
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Mr Davis has said he hopes to have an agreement on a transition period in time for the summit on March 22.
The Brexit negotiator last week tweeted to say he is looking forward to the meeting where UK and EU officials will hold talks from Tuesday, February 6 to Friday 9 in the Belgian capital.
Writing on Twitter, Mr Davis said: “Looking forward to welcoming @MichelBarnier to London on Monday.
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“Important next step in our work to build new partnership between UK & EU.”
The three-day long meeting will see Mr Davis and his team form a clearer agreement with their EU counterparts on the UK-EU relationship after Brexit.
From Tuesday to Thursday concerns about withdrawal issues in terms of governance will be discussed, as well as the ongoing Irish border concerns.
On Friday, the teams will wrap-up and provide an update on the UK-EU post-Brexit future relationship.