Chief EU Brexit negotiator: No time for 'cherry picking' on issues like single market

'Time will be short'

The European Union's chief negotiator for Brexit has said a deal between the UK and the EU will have to be reached by October 2018, just 18 months after UK Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 next March.

Michel Barnier (pictured) said in a press conference in Brussels today that negotiations should be kept "short" and there would be no time for "cherry picking" on issues such as the single market. "Time will be short. It is clear the period for actual negotiations will be shorter than two years. "At the beginning, the two years included the time for the council to set guidelines and to authorise negotiations. At the end, the agreement must of course be approved by the Council and European Parliament. Finally, the UK will have to approve the agreement - all within the two-year period. ...