EU ‘sherpas’ agree on draft Brexit guidelines

Consensus sets stage for EU27 summit on Saturday in Brussels.

Delegates from the EU’s capitals agreed Monday on draft guidelines for the upcoming Brexit negotiations, which call for a step-by-step approach and would require divorce terms to be settled before discussion on a future trade deal.

Consensus among the so-called EU sherpas, representing the 27 capitals, sets the stage for a summit of EU leaders in Brussels this Saturday, where the draft guidelines are to be approved.

A senior EU official said the draft guidelines were agreed with only minor technical adjustments, and largely remain as initially written by officials at the direction of European Council President Donald Tusk.

The guidelines put top priority on securing guarantees of citizens’ rights, and hashing out the financial terms of the U.K.’s withdrawal. They also put emphasis on the importance of border issues, particularly related to Ireland and Gibraltar.

“The discussion of the revised draft guidelines was consensual and resulted in only a few precisions and technical adjustments,” a senior EU official said. “It is now for the EU27 leaders on Saturday to decide.”

There is little doubt the guidelines will be approved. Those general guidelines are to be followed by a more detailed set of negotiating directives now being drafted by the European Commission, which will take the formal lead in the negotiations with the U.K.

In addition to formal approval of the guidelines, Saturday’s meeting will include “a wider debate on Brexit and the upcoming talks,” the official said.