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Brexit: negotiations will continue in Brussels
After a period of tension and breakdown in talks, London and the European Union resumed talks on Thursday. These resumed Thursday and will continue until Wednesday, before being moved to Brussels. However, negotiators believe they are far from an agreement.
Post-Brexit trade negotiations started since Thursday between the United Kingdom and the European Union will continue until Wednesday in London and then move to Brussels on Thursday, but "we are still far from an agreement", several said on Sunday. European sources to AFP.
"The negotiations continue in London until Wednesday and then in Brussels from Thursday," said a European source.
"Negotiations are progressing, but we are still far away," commented a European official. The EU has refused the principle of a negotiating tunnel, because member states need to be informed of the state of play of the discussions, "he explained.
European negotiator Michel Barnier will travel back and forth between London and Brussels next week, two European officials said.
Several avenues are being studied by the negotiators on the three difficult points: the alignment of standards and the rules of the game in matters of competition, the settlement of disputes and fishing.
The EU refuses to set deadlines for the negotiations, but an inventory is planned for mid-November, it was said.
Negotiations resumed Thursday in London after a week of tension. The two negotiators, Michel Barnier and Briton David Frost have decided to intensify their discussions and work on draft texts in order to find an agreement applicable on January 1, at the end of the transition period following their historic divorce on January 31.
"Clearly, significant differences remain between our positions on the most difficult subjects but we are ready with the EU to see if it is possible to bring them closer during intensive discussions," said a spokesman for the Prime Minister on Thursday. Minister Boris Johnson in a statement. "It is quite possible that the negotiations will fail," he warned, however.
