每日外刊丨0303 - 英国和欧盟将进入激烈的贸易谈判

2013年1月23日，英国首相卡梅伦首次提及脱欧公投。2015年1月4日，英国首相卡梅伦表示，如果有可能，将原计划于2017年进行公投提前举行。2015年5月28日报道，英国政府向下议院提交并公布了有关“脱欧公投”的议案，包括公投问题的语句，并承诺将在2017年底之前举行投票。2017年3月16日，英国女王伊丽莎白二世批准“脱欧”法案，授权英国首相特雷莎·梅正式启动脱欧程序。2018年6月26日，英女王批准英国脱欧法案，允许英国退出欧盟。7月12日，英国已经发布脱欧白皮书。9月19日，特雷莎·梅在德国媒体发表文章写道，英国与欧洲联盟已接近达成“脱欧”协议，她希望欧盟能像英国一样拿出诚意和决心，作出让步，避免出现英国“无协议脱欧”的情况。11月25日，欧盟除英国外的27国领导人一致通过了英国“脱欧”协议草案。12月10日，欧洲法院裁定，英国可单方面撤销“脱欧”决定。

Only through unity can we have a strong, if the split, then a single blow.

When the European Parliament bade farewell to Britain, its members broke out into a wistful chorus of "Auld Lang Syne." But when British negotiators travel to Brussels on Monday to kick off the next phase of Brexit, these old acquaintances are likely to give them the cold shoulder. Negotiations for a sweeping new trade agreement between Britain and the European Union are beginning in an atmosphere of deepening acrimony, with each side accusing the other of bad faith, posturing and moving the goal posts.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government released its objectives for the trade agreement on Thursday — a 30-page document that served mainly to underscore how far apart the two sides are, as they begin a fiendishly complicated negotiation that must produce a deal by the end of the year. The prime minister's top advisers added to the pressure by warning that if they did not have the outlines of a deal by June, they would walk away from the talks and pivot to preparing for a no-deal Brexit.

Unlike in a typical trade negotiation, Brussels and London are not trying to pull down tariffs, eliminate quotas or remove other barriers. They are instead working out which barriers will need to be reinstated between two partners that once enjoyed open markets and friction-free trade.