Disturbing deadlock over UK’s Brexit bill, says EU’s Michel Barnier
AFP|
Updated: Oct 13, 2017, 01.01 AM IST
BRUSSELS: Britain and the EU are stuck in a "disturbing deadlock" over the Brexit divorce bill, although a breakthrough remains possible in the next two months, EU negotiator Michel Barnier said Thursday.
The stalemate will stoke fears swirling in London and Brussels of a breakdown in talks that could see Britain leaving the European Union in March 2019 without an agreement to soften the blow.
Wrapping up a fifth round of talks with UK’s David Davis, Barnier said he could not recommend to EU leaders at a summit next week that negotiations move on from divorce issues to talks on a post-Brexit trade deal. The Frenchman reserved his most cutting comments for the issue of financial commitments, saying Britain had still not spelled out what PM Theresa May promised in a key speech in Florence, Italy, last month.
"We are at a deadlock on this question which is extremely disturbing," Barnier told a press conference with Davis at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Speaking a mix of French and English, Barnier said the "constructive" talks had clarified some points but that there had not been any "great steps forward" on central issues.
The leaders of the other EU 27 countries have demanded there be "sufficient progress" on the Brexit bill, the rights of EU citizens living in Britain, and on Northern Ireland before moving on to discuss a post-Brexit trade deal.
The stalemate will stoke fears swirling in London and Brussels of a breakdown in talks that could see Britain leaving the European Union in March 2019 without an agreement to soften the blow.
Wrapping up a fifth round of talks with UK’s David Davis, Barnier said he could not recommend to EU leaders at a summit next week that negotiations move on from divorce issues to talks on a post-Brexit trade deal. The Frenchman reserved his most cutting comments for the issue of financial commitments, saying Britain had still not spelled out what PM Theresa May promised in a key speech in Florence, Italy, last month.
"We are at a deadlock on this question which is extremely disturbing," Barnier told a press conference with Davis at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Speaking a mix of French and English, Barnier said the "constructive" talks had clarified some points but that there had not been any "great steps forward" on central issues.
The leaders of the other EU 27 countries have demanded there be "sufficient progress" on the Brexit bill, the rights of EU citizens living in Britain, and on Northern Ireland before moving on to discuss a post-Brexit trade deal.
