Brexit talks to start again next week
Further Brexit negotiations have been scheduled for Thursday and Friday next week in a bid to achieve ‘sufficient progress’ in the talks before by next month.
The European Council decided in October that the talks so far had not advanced enough on matters like expat rights, the exit bill and the Northern Ireland border for them to green-light a ‘second phase’ of talks on ‘future relationship’ matters including trade.
There have now been no formal talks for three weeks but the EU and UK have released a joint statement that the two teams will be meeting again next week.
They hope matters may be deemed to have progressed enough by the next meeting of the European Council, on December 14-15. If that is not the case there is likely to be further speculation as to whether there may be no deal at all.
There remains uncertainty over what the UK is willing to pay for in the exit bill and what system will be used for controlling the Northern Irish border after Brexit.
On expat rights, outstanding areas of disagreement remain on matters such as ‘onward free movement’ rights for Britons in the EU, the right to vote in local elections, the recognition of qualifications and the right to export certain social security benefits after Brexit.
- British MPs have voted that the government should publish some 58 ‘impact studies’ that it commissioned into the effects Brexit may have on different sectors of the economy and the House of Commons speaker has said he may bring contempt proceedings against the government if it does not do so.
