UK must stick to all EU rules during transition: Michel Barnier

ROME: The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, told the UK it must follow all EU rules during a transition period after it exits the bloc and the duration of such an arrangement must be short.

“This period would begin on March 30, 2019, when the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European institutions, and therefore no longer takes part in the decisionmaking process,” Barnier told lawmakers Thursday. An extension of EU law, “with all its benefits, then logically this would require existing union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures to apply,” he said.

Barnier spoke in Italy 24 hours before British PM Theresa May delivers a speech in the country, in which she will outline what she’s prepared to offer to settle a “Brexit bill” of tens of billions of pounds. The UK is expected to ask for a transition period after leaving the EU during which it may continue to pay into the bloc’s central budget.