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Britain could conclude a withdrawal agreement with the EU within the next
three weeks, Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, has told parliament, even as
diplomats in Brussels played down the prospects of a rapid breakthrough.
英国退欧事务大臣多米尼克·拉布(Dominic
Raab)向议会表示，英国有望在三周内与欧盟(EU)达成退欧协议，尽管布鲁塞尔的外交官们淡化了谈判会迅速取得突破的前景。
Sterling rose sharply yesterday after Mr Raab’s comments that a deal with
the EU could be finalised by November 21, underlining the risk of a significant
mismatch in expectations as negotiators enter a crucial stretch of talks.
英镑昨日大涨，此前拉布表示，与欧盟的协议可能会在11月21日前最终敲定，这突显出随着谈判进入关键阶段，各方的预期可能会显著不同。
EU negotiators are open to accelerating talks and calling a special Brexit
summit for the bloc’s leaders later this month.
欧盟的谈判人员愿意加快谈判，并在11月晚些时候召集欧盟领导人举行一次英国退欧特别峰会。
But limited progress in the Brexit talks in recent days has led diplomats
to almost write off the prospects of a summit. One figure on the EU side said he
was “flabbergasted” at expectations of an imminent breakthrough.
但最近几天英国退欧谈判进展有限，导致外交官们几乎抹杀了峰会的前景。欧盟方面的一位人物表示，他对英方期望谈判会很快取得突破感到“震惊”。
Britain, by contrast, has been keeping up pressure to show progress. “The
end is now firmly in sight and, while obstacles remain, it cannot be beyond us
to navigate them,” Mr Raab said in a letter to MPs.
与此形成反差的是，英国保持着拿出进展的压力。拉布在致下议院议员的一封信中表示：“终点已清晰可见，虽然仍有障碍，但我们并非无法对付它们。”
UK ministers are quietly optimistic a breakthrough in the Brexit
negotiations on the vexed issue of the Irish border could be near, giving Mrs
May the chance to push a Brexit agreement through parliament before
Christmas.
英国的部长级官员们暗自乐观地认为，围绕爱尔兰边界这一棘手问题的谈判可能即将取得突破，让特里萨·梅(Theresa
May)有机会在圣诞节前推动议会通过退欧协议。
Ministers say they are hopeful of concluding the deal at a special meeting
of EU leaders in mid-November — possibly over the weekend of November 17-18 —
which would fit in with the timetable envisaged by Mr Raab.
部长级官员们表示，他们希望在11月中旬——也许是11月17至18日那个周末——举行的欧盟领导人特别会议上达成退欧协议，这将与拉布设想的进度表一致。
However, ambassadors on the EU side have been told by negotiators that more
time is likely to be needed to resolve the impasse in the talks over the Irish
border. One senior EU diplomat said a November summit “is very unlikely” unless
Britain yielded on most of the outstanding issues.
但谈判人员告诉欧盟方面的大使，解决爱尔兰边境的僵局可能需要更多时间。一位欧盟高级外交官表示，除非英国能在大多数悬而未决的问题上让步，否则要在11月的峰会上达成协议“几乎不可能”。
Mr Raab said in his letter to MPs on the Commons Brexit select committee
that he would be willing to give evidence to them once a withdrawal agreement
was finalised. He added he currently expected “November 21 to be suitable”.
拉布在给下议院退欧特别委员会议员们的信中表示，他愿意在退欧协议敲定后向他们作证。他补充道，他目前预计“11月21日是恰当的”。 |
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发表于 2018-11-3 14:13:56