Brexit: Where the U.K.’s divorce from the EU stands
European stocks rally to the week's high and sterling rallies as Britain and the EU announce a deal to move on to talk about trade and a Brexit transition period. Newslook
LONDON —Talks between Britain and the European Union over the terms of Brexit made a breakthrough Friday, paving the way for a move to the second stage of discussions.
The agreement on some of the key issues was announced at the 11th hour by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
A summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Dec. 14-15 will seek to determine whether "sufficient progress" has been made on three issues — citizens' rights, Ireland and Britain's financial obligations before moving forward with the Brexit process.
Here's a closer look at some of the issues:
The financial settlement Britain will pay for the divorce will be between $47 billion and $52 billion, May’s office confirmed Friday. The sum was agreed by the Treasury and Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator.
"We would look at it as a fair settlement of our obligations. We have always been clear that where we have commitments we would honor them,” said May’s spokesman.
May said Brexit will guarantee the rights of 3 million EU citizens living in the U.K. and 1 million Britons living in other EU countries. Last week, Britain’s Office for National Statistics said net migration to Britain over the previous year had fallen by the largest amount since records began, and that Brexit was likely to be a factor.
May said there will be no “hard” or physical border between the Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the neighboring Republic of Ireland, an EU member. The politically sensitive issue had threatened to delay the talks.
There is no physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as enshrined in the Good Friday agreement of 1998 that ended 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as "the Troubles."
Britain wants a two-year transition period leading to Brexit during which it wants to remain part of the EU's single market and customs union. The single market allows the free movement of goods and people while the customs union is a single trading area where goods circulate freely. May said the U.K. will leave the single market and customs union when it exits the bloc in March 2019, as she attempts to curb immigration.