Brussels tells UK to ‘keep calm’

The EU’s lead Brexit official has urged the UK to “keep calm and negotiate” as he set out an 18-month deadline for talks on a deal.

Although Article 50 of the EU treaties allows two years to thrash out a deal, the commission’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said talks must end months earlier to allow time for the European Council, the European Parliament, and the UK to approve the agreement.

If Britain formally notifies Brussels of its intention to leave by the end of March — as British prime minister Theresa May has said she will — this would mean a deal is needed by October 2018.