The European Union will only begin substantial Brexit negotiations as of May 22, according to an EU official with knowledge of the discussions, leaving a window of less than 18 months for the U.K to reach a compromise for an orderly withdrawal.
The general guidelines will be debated and then approved by EU leaders at a summit on April 29.
Even more detailed documents, delineating directives for specific policy areas, will also be issued to define the scope of the talks, the official said.
More specific directives, giving the bloc?s chief negotiator Michel Barnier a mandate to discuss a Brexit deal, will then need to be worked out for the General Affairs Council to approve on May 22.
Even as the bloc will focus its efforts on reaching a compromise, it must also prepare appropriate measures for the possibility of failing to reach an agreement on an orderly Brexit, the official said.
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