Confused and puzzled

Britain is in a hurry to turn the Brexit talks to the topic of trade, but the European Union is counseling patience.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s government will on Tuesday release another position paper on how it envisages its future relations with the EU. The latest focuses on how businesses and consumers can settle legal disputes after the breakup.

The flood of documents is aimed at rebutting EU criticism that the U.K. has been unclear what it wants from Brexit. But is also marks an attempt to pressure the bloc into bringing forward discussion of a long-term trade deal by highlighting the complexity of the issues at hand.

For example, Bart Van Vooren of Covington & Burling noted in a paper on Monday that the U.K. asked for British drug manufacturers to be able to release medicines to the European market after Brexit. Yet that would only work if Britain remains party to EU rules on pharmaceuticals, something that wil have to be discussed as part of a trade pact.

The EU is nevertheless holding firm to its view that it won’t discuss trade until “sufficient progress” is made addressing the Irish border, Brexit bill and citizens’ rights. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted on Monday that the new round of negotiations next week will “focus on orderly withdrawal” and that he’d been “clear and transparent since day one.”

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar added to the criticism, telling Bloomberg Television he remains “confused and puzzled” about the U.K.’s plan for trade after Brexit. He also dismissed May’s stance on the border as unrealistic and said the EU is not happy with the progress of talks to date.

— Simon Kennedy

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