European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he had little hope of securing a Brexit deal within two years, let alone concluding an EU-U.K. trade agreement during that period.
âI donât believe ⦠that we will manage within 24 months to a) define the procedures of the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU and b) establish an overarching future relationship between the U.K. and the European Continent,â Juncker said in a speech on Thursday evening in Munich, ahead of today’s opening of the Munich Security Conference.
âWhoever believes you could negotiate a free-trade agreement in two years, without determining beforehand what will be the procedures for the departure, is fundamentally mistaken,â the Commission chief added.
Juncker described Brexit as âa very difficult enterpriseâ and added that the U.K. would need to change âat least 20,000 lawsâ before a separation from the EU could be concluded. There will be no cherrypicking in the Brexit negotiations, he insisted: âEither you are in or you are out.â
Freedom of movement was important to the EU, Juncker said, and warned of turning the bloc âinto an advanced free-trade zone in which only capital, markets and goods play a role.â
Juncker also demanded that London âshould not be allowed to negotiate trade deals with half of the worldâ before it has officially left. âNo country, as long as it is member of the European Union, has the right to conclude bilateral trade deals.â