Clock ticking on third phase of Brexit as 2018 dawns

THE United Kingdom is beginning formal negotiations on a Brexit transition period for its scheduled departure from the EU in 2019, before turning this spring to trying to secure a final exit deal framework for the 2020s and beyond. These milestones herald the start of the third, historic chapter in the long-running UK exit saga.

The first phase of Brexit came after the June 2016 referendum when there were sometimes heated intra-UK debates about leaving the EU which were re-played in the June 2017 general election too. The end of this first chapter came with the triggering of Article 50 by the United Kingdom in March 2017 which started UK-EU discussions around divorce issues like the UK's exit bill for leaving the Brussels-based club, post-Brexit rights for citizens, and the future of the Irish border.

On Dec 8, a preliminary UK-EU deal was agreed on divorce issues, enabling the third phase of Brexit. As 2018 dawns, it is already clear that this third phase will see the toughest negotiations yet in what may also prove to be the most complex peacetime negotiation that London has ever undertaken.