BRUSSELS
(Reuters) - Britain's Brexit minister vowed to "get down to work" as
he kicked off a first full round of negotiations on Monday, but a year after
Britons voted
narrowly to quit the EU their government still seemed at odds
over what it wants.
"It's
time to get down to work and make this a successful negotiation," veteran
anti-EU campaigner David Davis said as he was welcomed to the European
Commission by the European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier for four
days of talks.
But back in
London, British media were rife with talk of infighting that echoed the
divisions Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party suffered during the
EU referendum. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, attending a different meeting
in Brussels, passed up an opportunity to deny that was the case.
His backing
was seen as vital for the 52-48 percent victory of the Leave camp in June last
year. Asked point blank on Monday if the cabinet was "split on
Brexit", Johnson simply said he was pleased negotiations had begun and
then defended the offer May has made to protect the rights of EU citizens in
Britain.
Struggling
for authority after losing her majority last month in an election she did not
need to call, May faces questions inside her party on whether she can exercise
control. That is worrying EU negotiators, who stress that 20 months until
Brexit is very little time to negotiate an orderly divorce.
Finance
minister Philip Hammond, who like May campaigned last year to keep Britain in
the EU, said on Sunday he believed most of his cabinet colleagues now backed
the idea of having two years or more of a transition period after Brexit in
March 2019 - to soften the disruptive effect on society and the economy.
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