What Michel Barnier’s October 2018 timeline means for the Brexit negotiations

Michel Barnier, who has been appointed as the European Commission’s Chief Negotiator in the Brexit negotiations, indicated on 6 December that should the UK trigger Article 50 in March 2017, then an exit agreement could be reached by October the following year. Thomas Cole writes that Barnier’s statement gives a clear signal that the EU would like to conclude Brexit as quickly as possible, and that the UK will have to move quickly if it wants to secure favourable exit terms.