Reuters (HERE) quotes some unnamed EU officials saying the two year process for Brexit is basically impossible. Greenland took three years to extricate itself and it had just one substantive issue and that was fishing rights. Because the UK's relationship is far more complex they believe at least six years are needed.
And if the UK invokes Article 50 at the start of 2017 it will mean negotiations will be going on while Germany, Holland and France are holding elections and Spain is still struggling to form a government after two inconclusive votes. Italy may also be holding elections if the government loses a referendum in November.
"Do you really think that Europe will be in a position to focus on Brexit talks next year if its five biggest countries are in the middle of elections or dogged by political uncertainty?" a senior Brussels-based official said.
They believe there will have to be an extended period of pre-negotiations before Article 50 is triggered otherwise we are certain to have tariff barriers at the end of the two year period when no deal has been signed. And no one will benefit from that.
They think, and some British diplomats agree, that the Brexiters demands are "starry eyed" and by this I assume they mean the UK having tariff free access to the single market while having controls on immigration.
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