Any such agreement at the end of UK-EU negotiations will need to win the approval of the European Parliament.

Finally, the resolution says that only when “substantial progress” has been made in talks on how the UK is to leave the EU can discussions begin on possible transitional arrangements. These arrangements must not last longer than three years, while an agreement on a future relationship can only be concluded once the UK has left the EU.

On 29 March 2017, the European Council received the notification by the United Kingdom of its intention to withdraw from the European Union and Euratom. This allows for the opening of negotiations as foreseen by the Treaty.

European integration has brought peace and prosperity to Europe and allowed for an unprecedented level and scope of cooperation on matters of common interest in a rapidly changing world. Therefore, the Union's overall objective in these negotiations will be to preserve its interests, those of its citizens, its businesses and its Member States.

The United Kingdom's decision to leave the Union creates significant uncertainties that have the potential to cause disruption, in particular in the United Kingdom but also, to a lesser extent, in other Member States. Citizens who have built their lives on the basis of rights flowing from the British membership of the EU face the prospect of losing those rights. Businesses and other stakeholders will lose the predictability and certainty that come with EU law. It will also have an impact on public authorities. With this in mind, we must proceed according to a phased approach giving priority to an orderly withdrawal. National authorities, businesses and other stakeholders should take all necessary steps to prepare for the consequences of the United Kingdom's withdrawal.

Throughout these negotiations the Union will maintain its unity and act as one with the aim of reaching a result that is fair and equitable for all Member States and in the interest of its citizens. It will be constructive and strive to find an agreement. This is in the best interest of both sides. The Union will work hard to achieve that outcome, but it will prepare itself to be able to handle the situation also if the negotiations were to fail.

These guidelines define the framework for negotiations under Article 50 TEU and set out the overall positions and principles that the Union will pursue throughout the negotiation. In this context, the European Council welcomes the resolution of the European Parliament of 5 April 2017. The European Council will remain permanently seized of the matter, and will update these guidelines in the course of the negotiations as necessary. Negotiating directives will be adjusted accordingly.  

1. The European Council will continue to base itself on the principles set out in the statement of Heads of State or Government and of the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission on 29 June 2016. It reiterates its wish to have the United Kingdom as a close partner in the future. It further reiterates that any agreement with the United Kingdom will have to be based on a balance of rights and obligations, and ensure a level playing field. Preserving the integrity of the Single Market excludes participation based on a sector-by-sector approach. A non-member of the Union, that does not live up to the same obligations as a member, cannot have the same rights and enjoy the same benefits as a member. In this context, the European Council welcomes the recognition by the British Government that the four freedoms of the Single Market are indivisible and that there can be no "cherry picking". The Union will preserve its autonomy as regards its decision-making as well as the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

2. Negotiations under Article 50 TEU will be conducted in transparency and as a single package. In accordance with the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, individual items cannot be settled separately. The Union will approach the negotiations with unified positions, and will engage with the United Kingdom exclusively through the channels set out in these guidelines and in the negotiating directives. So as not to undercut the position of the Union, there will be no separate negotiations between individual Member States and the United Kingdom on matters pertaining to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union.

3. The core principles set out above should apply equally to the negotiations on an orderly withdrawal, to any preliminary and preparatory discussions on the framework for a future relationship, and to any form of transitional arrangements.

4.  On the date of withdrawal, the Treaties will cease to apply to the United Kingdom, to those of its overseas countries and territories currently associated to the Union, and to territories for whose external relations the United Kingdom is responsible. The main purpose of the negotiations will be to ensure the United Kingdom's orderly withdrawal so as to reduce uncertainty and, to the extent possible, minimise disruption caused by this abrupt change.

To that effect, the first phase of negotiations will aim to:

The European Council will monitor progress closely and determine when sufficient progress has been achieved to allow negotiations to proceed to the next phase.

5. While an agreement on a future relationship between the Union and the United Kingdom as such can only be finalised and concluded once the United Kingdom has become a third country, Article 50 TEU requires to take account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union in the arrangements for withdrawal. To this end, an overall understanding on the framework for the future relationship should be identified during a second phase of the negotiations under Article 50 TEU. We stand ready to engage in preliminary and preparatory discussions to this end in the context of negotiations under Article 50 TEU, as soon as the European Council decides that sufficient progress has been made in the first phase towards reaching a satisfactory agreement on the arrangements for an orderly withdrawal.

6. To the extent necessary and legally possible, the negotiations may also seek to determine transitional arrangements which are in the interest of the Union and, as appropriate, to provide for bridges towards the foreseeable framework for the future relationship in the light of the progress made. Any such transitional arrangements must be clearly defined, limited in time, and subject to effective enforcement mechanisms. Should a time-limited prolongation of Union acquis be considered, this would require existing Union regulatory, budgetary, supervisory, judiciary and enforcement instruments and structures to apply.

7. The two year timeframe set out in Article 50 TEU ends on 29 March 2019.

Liberating Britain from the chains of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is an iconic demand for Britain’s eurosceptics. CAP consumes  40% of the European Commission’s budget. In 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher argued that Britain has a much smaller agricultural sector to demand and secure the famous rebate on the U.K’s contribution to the EU budget. And even the pro-European Liberal Nick Clegg has called the CAP a “wasteful and economically perverse support system for Europe’s farmers.”

As Britain sets out to embrace the opportunities of a post-Brexit world, there are few challenges London will need to address, including rallying the consent of 164 WTO members on the level of subsidies for its farmers, for commodities such as beef, poultry, or wheat, as well as preferential trade schemes for poorer countries. While negotiating with the world, Britain must also negotiate with its own farmers a new agricultural regime, which will be less protectionist and presumably more open to global competition.

EU agricultural subsidies make up for 67% of farm income in the U.K. according to a study commissioned by the British National Farming Union. Of course, these are not all family-run businesses. The British Royal Family, as well as big multinationals such as Nestle and Campino, are big beneficiaries of EU subsidies.

But, lowering tariffs and subsidies will disrupt Britain’s agricultural status quo.

We were never going to join that single currency. And the sadness, of course, is that Maastricht came about partly because of the deal that was done because of the enlargement of Germany with unification – to tie Germany in economically, therefore not having the power of the Deutsche Mark.”

source https://www.neweurope.eu/article/brexit-begins-interview-uk-conservative-party-vice-chairman-mark-field/

The UK’s two military bases on Cyprus are “more important than ever” because of the rise of extremist terror and mass migration flows coming from the region, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said.
Sir Michael, speaking after talks with his Cypriot counterpart, said coalition forces will this year aim to strike the “decisive blow” against Islamic State (IS).
He said British warplanes stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus have made 1,200 strikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria in the last two years.
Sir Michael said IS now holds less than 10% of territory in Iraq.
He hailed the “larger role” Cyprus is playing in safeguarding security in the eastern Mediterranean.

source http://chronicle.gi/2017/02/uks-cyprus-military-bases-more-important-than-ever-2/

EU states agreed to open a command centre to run military training missions abroad, a step France and Italy hope is a precursor to an EU defence headquarters in the face of a growing Russian threat. 

Foreign and defence ministers approved the Brussels-based command, which will be run by some 30 people when it is launched in the next few weeks. 

source  http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/775843/eu-army-ministers-approve-brussels-defence-command-centre