The heads of state and government of 27 European Union member states on Friday approved the guidelines that would mark the bloc's future relations with the United Kingdom post-Brexit, including a proposal for a free trade agreement. In a statement published after a debate at the European Council, the states shot down any attempts at cherry-picking in future relations between London and Brussels, insisting the UK could not keep some sectors in the single market and not others. The Council confirmed it was ready to start a free trade agreement with the UK, but highlighted that "such an agreement cannot however offer the same benefits as membership and cannot amount to participation in the single market or parts thereof," according to the statement. However, several other issues remained to be decided on, including the complicated debate on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a constant sticking point in negotiations as it is the UK's only land border with the EU; the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1999 to end decades of violence on the island mandates it must remain open. Ahead of the debate and vote, which only took a few minutes, British Prime Minister Theresa May had said that the next stage of negotiations had to be dynamic in order to successfully form a future partnership between London and Brussels. The EU27 are later on Friday due to officially approve a legal agreement made earlier in the week on a 21-month post-Brexit transition period during which the UK would no longer be a member state of the EU and would not be involved in any decision-making in the bloc, but would still be a part of the single market and customs union and subject to EU law.
The 28 European Union member states have approved guidelines for the UK 's future relationship with the EU post - Brexit . In a statement , the European Council said it was ready to begin free trade agreement negotiations , but reiterated the deal would not have " the same benefits as membership and can not amount to participation in the single market " . Among the many issues still to be resolved is the closure of the Irish border , which the 1999 Good Friday Agreement specifies must remain open .