French minister warns against deadlines in post-Brexit talks

• In a speech in London ahead of the start Monday of post-Brexit negotiations in Brussels, Amelie de Montchalin also warned Britain not to "underestimate the unity" of the EU.
• Montchalin stressed that the EU's aim was "of course not to punish or take revenge" on Britain for leaving, and that the bloc was united in its approach.
• "The unity of the 27 never faltered since the beginning of the negotiations."

LONDON: France's Europe minister said on Friday it was "possible" that the European Union and Britain will strike a comprehensive free trade deal this year, but warned against "artificial deadlines".

In a speech in London ahead of the start Monday of post-Brexit negotiations in Brussels, Amelie de Montchalin also warned Britain not to "underestimate the unity" of the EU.

"I'm totally open and very realistically thinking it's possible," she told an audience at the Chatham House think tank on the chances of reaching an accord by 2021.

But Montchalin added: "We cannot let our level of ambition be affected by what I would call artificial deadlines.

"For us substance is much, much more important than deadlines."

Britain left the EU on January 31 with both sides having agreed to a standstill transition until December 31 to strike a new economic and security partnership to replace 47 years of integration.

In its red lines for the talks unveiled on Thursday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government rebuffed the bloc's demands for common trading standards and to maintain existing fishing rights.

The mandate set out hopes for an expansive free trade deal with Brussels, but warned it could walk away without one if a "broad outline" of an agreement has not emerged by June.

The stance is seen as putting the prospect of a chaotic Brexit at the end of the year firmly back on the table.

Montchalin stressed that the EU's aim was "of course not to punish or take revenge" on Britain for leaving, and that the bloc was united in its approach.

"Don't underestimate the unity of the 27," she said of the remaining EU member states.

"The unity of the 27 never faltered since the beginning of the negotiations."