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Brexit: UK and EU urged to turn down the heat as they enter next phase

Since March the UK and EU have been butting heads over the first stage of our divorce - but now it gets really complicated.

With both sides moving towards agreement on the principles behind the cash settlement, EU citizens' rights and what the Irish border may look like, now the next phase can be considered.

This addresses two vital areas: the legal underpinnings of the transition phase (what the Government rather optimistically calls the "implementation" period) and our future relationship with the EU on trade and security.

The immediate burning fire is transition: the Prime Minister has insisted we will leave the single market and customs union on 29 March 2019 - so what rules will govern our access to EU markets?

To take a contentious example, will we have to accept the European Court of Justice as the ultimate legal arbiter during this period?

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Politically that will be a tough sell, but Brussels is likely to insist we have to accept certain rules and new laws - while not being in a position to help craft them.

There is an army of negotiators, lawyers, accountants and politicians who will be involved in the process and will be operating under exceptional stress.

Politics in each of the 28 member states - as well as lobbying by big business and other so-called stakeholders - will be powerful and unpredictable external forces.

Former UK trade negotiator Michael Johnson said both sides must turn down the heat.

"The people on the other side of the table - they are not your enemies," he told Sky News.

"You are looking for mutually beneficial solutions in a negotiation and the more low-key and boring in the eyes of the general public, the more likely the negotiation is to be successful."

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The trade relationship will also involve detailed and complex discussions, which are further complicated by the competing interests contained within the EU.

Elena Bryan, now a Washington-based consultant, was a senior American trade negotiator in the ultimately doomed TTIP talks between the US and EU, and warns of the difficulties.

She said: "Away from the negotiating table there are constituencies, business interests, NGOs, local and national governmental issues.

"Because these are EU sovereign governments they all need to be factored in because you need to have an agreement that can be passed by the legislatures."

The process is likely to involve a so-called "scoping exercise" in which both sides determine their priorities.

Matthew Weiniger QC, a dispute resolution partner at the law firm Linklaters, told Sky News: "A scoping exercise determines what the UK wants from these negotiations."

He added: "They will have to liaise with industry, consumer groups and the devolved governments. Then the Government needs to have the discussions and work out who they are going to please and who they are not going to please."

When the negotiations begin in earnest, they will have to be broken down into bitesize chunks with teams assembled to discuss each sector - such as energy, the environment and transport.

So now MPs will get a chance to have a "meaningful vote" on the eventual deal, how likely is it that a trade deal will be sewn up in time to be ratified by member states, the European Parliament and Westminster?

TTIP failed, the Canadian deal CETA took years to complete (and doesn't really include services, 80% of the UK economy), but some experts are optimistic.

Mr Weiniger said: "It's not impossible for one reason - at the moment our rules are the same as the EU rules and the EU rules are not foreign rules. Often the EU rules and policies have been shaped by UK interests."

The negotiations will involve thousands but the impact of their decisions will affect hundreds of millions, long after this tortuous process is completed.