英國首相打響退歐發(fā)令槍

Theresa May signed the historic letter that starts Britain’s exit from the EU yesterday, amid signs the prime minister is willing to compromise to prevent the UK’s 44-year relationship with the bloc ending in acrimonious divorce.

特里薩•梅(Theresa May)昨日簽署了啟動英國退歐的歷史性信函。目前有跡象顯示，英國首相愿意妥協(xié)，以防止英國與歐盟44年的關(guān)系以不歡而散告終。

Although Mrs May will make it clear she is prepared to walk away without a deal, behind the scenes British officials have signalled a readiness to soften rigid positions in areas such as the role of the European Court of Justice and the so-called exit bill and to strengthen security ties.

雖然梅將明確表示，她準(zhǔn)備在談不攏的情況下放棄談判，但在幕后，英國官員們發(fā)出信號，愿意在一些領(lǐng)域放軟僵硬的立場，比如歐洲法院(European Court of Justice)的角色以及所謂的退出賬單，同時加強(qiáng)安全聯(lián)系。

The official Article 50 exit process will begin today at just after 1.30pm in Brussels, when Sir Tim Barrow, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, presents Mrs May’s letter of withdrawal to Donald Tusk, European Council president.

正式的第50條退歐程序?qū)⒂诮袢障挛?時30分過后在布魯塞爾啟動，屆時英國駐歐盟大使蒂姆•巴羅爵士(Sir Tim Barrow)向歐洲理事會(European Council)主席唐納德•圖斯克(Donald Tusk)呈交梅的退出信函。

But the start of two years of Brexit talks has been accompanied by a fresh effort by Mrs May to build bridges with EU counterparts, including a new offer in the Article 50 letter to beef up security co-operation with Europe, according to officials.

但是，據(jù)官員們介紹，在啟動為期兩年的英國退歐談判的同時，梅發(fā)起了與歐盟同僚構(gòu)建橋梁的新努力，包括在觸發(fā)第50條的信中提出加強(qiáng)與歐洲的安全合作。

In another concession, Downing Street said yesterday that Mrs May would not use the notification of Article 50 to announce the immediate cessation of full citizen rights for new EU arrivals in Britain. MEPs insist full rights must apply until Brexit is complete.

另一個讓步是，唐寧街昨日表示，梅不會借發(fā)出第50條通知之機(jī)宣布立即停止今后入境英國的歐盟人士的全部公民權(quán)利。歐洲議會議員們堅持要求，這些權(quán)利在英國退歐完成前必須得到保持。

There are also signs that Mrs May’s promise “to end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in Britain” is being recalibrated to provide room for manoeuvre.

此外還有跡象表明，梅對于“終止歐洲法院在英國的管轄權(quán)”的承諾正得到重新調(diào)整，以提供回旋空間。

The Brexit department said that this meant “bringing to an end the direct jurisdiction” of the court in the UK, raising the possibility that the ECJ might have some non-binding or partial role in settling trade disputes and in policing a transitional deal.

英國的退歐部表示，這意味著終止歐洲法院在英國的“直接管轄權(quán)”，從而留出這樣的可能性，即歐洲法院也許在解決貿(mào)易爭端和管轄過渡協(xié)議方面具有一些不具約束力或部分的作用。

Diplomats expect a bumpy start to talks over a UK Brexit “bill”, which Brussels has put at about €60bn, but highlight the flexibility of Mrs May’s formulation that “the days of Britain making vast contributions to the European Union every year will end”.

外交官們預(yù)期，圍繞英國退歐“賬單”(布魯塞爾稱其總額達(dá)到約600億歐元)的談判將有一個不順利的開端，但他們指出，梅的立場(“英國每年向歐盟繳納大量資金的日子將會結(jié)束”)會有靈活性。

Although Eurosceptics in the ruling Conservative party are hostile, Mrs May’s language would allow a significant one-off payment for any outstanding liabilities — including money committed to infrastructure projects in eastern Europe — plus annual fees for specific programmes.

雖然執(zhí)政黨保守黨內(nèi)的歐洲懷疑者抱有敵對態(tài)度，但梅的措辭將允許對任何未償支付義務(wù)(包括對東歐基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施項目承諾的資金)進(jìn)行重大的一次性付款，加上針對特定計劃的年度貢獻(xiàn)。

European capitals note a more moderate tone from British ministers and a private recognition that an exit with no trade deal in place would create economic havoc, in spite of foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s claim it would be “perfectly OK”. They also say Mrs May is coming around to the idea that it may be impossible to finalise a trade deal within 18 months and that a transitional deal may be needed.

歐洲各國注意到英國部長級官員們近來的表態(tài)比較溫和，而且后者私下承認(rèn)，在沒有任何貿(mào)易協(xié)議的情況下退出將帶來經(jīng)濟(jì)破壞，盡管英國外交大臣鮑里斯•約翰遜(Boris Johnson)聲稱那將“完全沒問題”。他們還表示，梅開始接受這樣的想法，即在18個月內(nèi)敲定一份貿(mào)易協(xié)議或許辦不到，因而可能需要一份過渡協(xié)議。

In spite of the change in the mood music — Brexit minister David Davis publicly refers to the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier as “Michel” — some diplomats in both London and Brussels believe the chances of a deal are no greater than 50:50.

盡管背景音樂發(fā)生了變化——英國退歐大臣戴維•戴維斯(David Davis)在公開場合把歐盟首席談判代表米歇爾•巴尼爾(Michel Barnier)親切地稱為“米歇爾”——但倫敦和布魯塞爾的一些外交官認(rèn)為，達(dá)成一項協(xié)議的幾率不超過50:50。