Simultaneous Brexit and trade talks possible: EU parliament negotiator

The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator said Monday that simultaneous talks on the divorce terms and a potential trade deal for Britain after it leaves the EU were possible.

"In the treaty,Article 50, we are saying a withdrawal can be agreed taking into consideration the future relationship," Guy Verhofstadt said during an event at London's Chatham House think tank.

Britain has promised to trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty by the end of March, after which negotiators will have two years to thrash out a deal.

"It is a fantastic political text and it says it all -- a withdrawal agreement in the light of the future relationship," added Verhofstadt.

"That is literally in the treaty and that is what we need to apply."

Verhofstadt said he "deplored" the Brexit decision but that he was looking "for fair negotiations, not punishment or revenge".

He set a 14- to 15-month timetable in which to conclude negotiations.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is keen to conduct talks over the terms of the break-up and Britain's future relationship with the European Union at the same time.

However, EU Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned he will "take everything step by step, in the right order," suggesting he favoured striking the divorce deal before discussing a potential future trade deal.

Former Belgian PM Verhofstadt warned that the EU was under "serious threat" from three sides; radical political Islam, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, who recently suggested that more countries could leave the bloc.

The parliament chief negotiator said it would be "completely ridiculous to ignore" that the EU faces a "polycrisis".

He called for deeper federalisation of the remaining EU members, arguing that the European Union "doesn't exist" at the moment, and was really just a "loose confederation of 28 member states".

Verhofstadt compared the swift and sweeping response of the United States to the 2008 financial crisis with the EU's reaction.

"We had a discussion, when you have two opinions in EU nothing is happening at all," he said. "We have not adequate political institutions in the EU to react."

Brexit is a "golden opportunity" to bring about deep reform, he added, drawing the countries into tighter unions on the economy and security.

He urged voters to reject the nationalist politics currently sweeping western democracies, adding that polls showed most Europeans believe the EU should take more action on key issues such as external border controls, terrorism and the economy.

"I am astounded to see a lot of people supporting nationalism as a solution to the common problems," he said, adding it was the "most stupid thing you can do, it is playing with fire".