UK Prime Minister May set to ‘disappoint’ with lack of detail in key Brexit speech, analysts say

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Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on September 13, 2017.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to deliver a key speech on Friday outlining her plans for how the U.K.’s post-Brexit relationship with the European Union (EU) will work.

However, analysts expect that May will fail to provide enough detail to please the EU, potentially setting negotiations on a collision course.

“Expectations for the speech are high… But despite the high expectations, I think we will be disappointed. I don’t think she will be able to give the clarity many in the EU27 and Michel Barnier hope,” Rem Korteweg, head of unit Europe in the World at think-tank Clingendael, told CNBC via email.

The EU has criticized the U.K. government often for failing, it says, to provide enough clarity on how Britain sees its future relationship with the EU.

On Wednesday, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that to successfully end negotiations by the March 2019 deadline, both sides need to accelerate their efforts.

“I think (May’s speech) will be short on detail. This will infuriate a number of capitals,” Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, told CNBC via email.