European Council may establish Brexit working group

The European Council, representing EU member states, may establish a formal working group on Brexit as preparations intensify in Brussels ahead of the triggering of article 50 by the British government next March.

Officials at the European Council, which is headed by Donald Tusk, are considering establishing a working group with a dedicated chairperson which would guide negotiations between the 27 member states. It follows informal contacts between Mr Tusk's officials and representatives from EU member states, excluding Britain, over the past month. The European Council is expected to issue "guidelines" to the negotiations once article 50 is triggered by London, expected to be in March, but it could be some months before negotiations start in earnest.

Contacts between the European Commission, whose Brexit taskforce led by Michel Barnier will be conducting the bulk of the technical negotiations, and EU member states have also intensified. Earlier this week the former French commissioner met with representatives from all member states, including Ireland, in Brussels, while he also briefed the European Parliament this week on progress. It is understood that Mr Barnier reiterated that the Irish Border issue would be dealt with early on in the negotiations.

In a perceived slight to London, the European Council confirmed on Thursday night that EU member states would meet without Britain for a dinner at the next EU summit on December 15th, following a meeting of all 28 EU leaders including Theresa May during the day. Downing Street has previously criticised the decision of the EU27 to meet without Britain before the negotiations on exiting the European Union begin, pointing out that Britain is still a full member of the EU until it formally leaves.

Byelection

Those who advocated a Remain vote in June's referendum on Britain's EU membership were given a boost after the Liberal Democrats beat the incumbent Conservative MP to win a byelection in Richmond, south west London. Sarah Olney, the winning candidate, beat Zac Goldsmith, a Eurosceptic, taking 50 per cent of the vote in a ballot that was widely interpreted as a plebiscite on the Brexit referendum, though concerns about a proposed new runway at Heathrow may also have shaped voters' choice.

Noting that many who had voted leave in the referendum had backed the Liberal Democrats candidate in the byelection, Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron said: "This is not just about a remain versus leave rerun, it's about people trying to say to Theresa May: we do not like the extreme version of Brexit outside the single market you are taking us down."

Sarah Olney, an accountant who entered politics last year, said the result signalled a rejection of “hard Brexit”.

“We don’t want to be pulled out of the single market and we will not let intolerance win.”

A spokesman for the government said it was “still committed to leaving the European Union and triggering article 50 by the end of next year”.

Earlier this week, the minister responsible for Britain's exit from the European Union, David Davis, suggested for the first time that Britain may consider paying to keep single market access for the country.