The United Kingdom Permanent Representative to the European Union Sir Ivan Rogers claimed it might take as long as a decade to finalize negotiations on a trade deal with the bloc, the BBC reported on Thursday.
According to the report, Rogers told the U.K. government back in October that all other members of the EU believe the free trade agreement may not be reached until mid-2020s. However, he warned Britain may not get the deal at all since in order for it to be ratified, the parliaments of all 27 EU member states need to vote in favor of it.
European Union leaders believe it will not be possible for the U.K. to remain in the single market after Brexit, but are willing to enter negotiations on a free trade deal with the country, Rogers added.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said the government was not aware of Rogers’ remarks. May and other U.K. ministers have stated they believe that once Article 50 is triggered, negotiations will not take longer than two years, the timeframe foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty to complete the entire process of a country's departure from the bloc.
Image: EPA / Facundo Arrizabalaga
