British ambassador says Brexit talks progressing but 'no deal has to remain a possibility'

The UK Ambassador to Luxembourg John Marshall made clear that the negotiations surrounding the terms of the UK's exit from the European Union were progressing, but that "no deal has to remain a possibility".

Speaking to the Luxembourg press, the ambassador said that sufficient progress was being made in the talks, despite conflicting reports on their advancement.

"Our aim as I say is that by October sufficient progress will have been made for us to move on to phase two which is talk about the future partnership," Marshall said, "It's our hope and expectation."

The second phase of the negotiations will be on the future partnership between the UK and the EU27, and it is, according to Marshall, in the interest of both parties to "get into those detailed discussions as soon as possible," as a number of issues currently being negotiated in the "first" phase, such as the Irish border issue, are "inextricably linked with future partnership issues." 

Nevertheless, he said that the UK did not expect any big breakthrough regarding what has now come to be known as the "divorce bill" anytime soon. 

Asked about the sometimes acerbic and opposing views expressed by the two main Brexit negotiators, David Davis for the UK and Michel Barnier for the European Commission, the ambassador said those comments were "perfectly understandable in the context of negotiations," and that a "good, constructive" spirit prevailed between them.

'No deal has to remain a possibility'

The ambassador would not comment on the leaked UK interior ministry post-Brexit immigration documents, published by the Guardian on Tuesday, but said, along with other reports, it was "unhelpful" noise.

Some of that noise is a fear in Brussels that the UK will walk out of the negotiations without a deal. Asked by the Luxemburger Wort about this possibility, the ambassador said that the UK's aim was a good deal but that all options had to remain open. 

"Our position is very clear, that we are going all out for a good deal, and it's got to be a good deal for us and a good deal for the EU27, and we think that is perfectly achievable, and that's what we want. 

"But no deal has to remain a possibility, so in scenario planning it's not something that you can rule out 100% and on that basis, contingency planning gets carried out for that eventuality but it's absolutely clear that what we want is an agreement," Marshall said.

While the negotiations have progressed since June, a number of key issues such as the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and citizens' rights still need to be settled, with each side wanting the other to offer more. 

Frontier workers

One of the issues where the UK would like the EU to offer more is in terms of recognition of qualifications and frontier workers, which is one of the biggest concerns for British citizens living in Luxembourg.

He explained that Brits in Luxembourg might on the one hand not be overly concerned about the possibility of remaining in the country, but that they had concerns about whether they could continue to live and work as they have done so far. 

"While there's been an agreement on frontier workers ... [which] would probably help someone who was living in Thionville and commuting daily to work in Kirchberg, it doesn't cover people who might be living in Luxembourg and providing professional services across a number of different member states," Marshall added. 

The second biggest concern for British citizens in Luxembourg is the overall uncertainty the referendum has brought on, Marshall said that it had therefore been the "very clear intention" of the UK and the EU27 to reach an agreement on citizens' rights as soon as possible. 

Asked by the Wort whether there had been a drop in the number of Brits moving to Luxembourg, the Ambassador said the embassy had no records of the number of British nationals living in Luxembourg, but that there was no impression of a dramatic decrease. 

"I have not seen any lessening of interest in the UK in Luxembourg in any sense," Marshall said, "I continue to meet people who have arrived fairly recently as well as meeting people who have lived here for 40 years." 

What he has seen though, is an important increase in the number of Brits applying for Luxembourgish citizenship. 

In July the government said the number of applications was about 60 per year between 2013 and 2015, then jumped to 193 in 2016 and already stood at 132 for the first five months of 2017 and was expected to continue climbing. 

"People don't like uncertainty, and Luxembourg citizenship would provide certainty," Marshall said. "These are people who love the country so much ... they feel strongly European, they feel a very strong attachment to Luxembourg and so it's a natural thing for them now to do."

(Barbara Tasch, barbara.tasch@wort.lu, +352 49 93 732)