Barnier says Brexit talks not progressing quickly

Barnier says Brexit talks not progressing quickly



The EU's top negotiator has accused the British government of being clueless over Brexit - and warned this looks like it will delay negotiations on a future trade deal.

Michel Barnier yesterday told EU ambassadors that talks on the future relationship between Britain and the bloc are now less likely to start in October because of a lack of progress.

According to briefings from Brussels, he said Britain has 'no position' on the Brexit divorce bill and is unclear in its positions on other crucial issues too.

And it has been claimed that there have been no detailed discussions on the Irish border issue - despite two rounds of formal Brexit talks.

The allegations are likely to spark fury among British government ministers, who have said they hope to get on to the next phase of talks by the autumn.

And Tory MP Jacob Rees Mogg slammed the comments telling the Mail Online 'the EU needs a deal more than we do...they are in real trouble without our money'



The Conservative MP for North East Somerset, said: ‘Well he would say that wouldn’t he?

‘He is the counter party in the negotiation and wishes to influence the process as much as possible.

‘The difficulty is not that we don’t have a position, the difficulty is that the EU has failed to prove that we owe them any money at all.

‘And under EU and international law, if we leave without a deal we owe them nothing, and that means that the EU needs a deal more than we do.



‘And Mr Barnier, by overstating his position and being overly demanding, is risking getting a less favourable deal for the European Union.

‘And the European Union will find life very difficult without a deal because they need our money. They are in real trouble without our money.’

Mr Rees Mogg said the leaks of the briefing to ambassadors is a ‘diversion tactic’ designed to distract from the EU’s internal woes.

Recounting Mr Barnier's update to ambassadors yesterday, an EU official involved in Brexit talks said: 'He said the likelihood of starting the future relationship talks in October appeared to be decreasing.'



According to another official, Mr Barnier tore into the government's position accusing ministers of having no position at all on key issues.

The official said: 'Barnier expressed concerns that sufficient progress in October looked difficult now.

'Mainly because Britain has no position on finances, but also because they don't have positions on other issues as well.

'The more they drag on, the less time is left for second phase and special relationship they want.'

The EU has said that 'sufficient progress' on settling the future right of EU nationals, the Irish border question and the Brexit divorce bill must be made before the next stage of talks can kick off.

But an EU diplomat said very little real progress has been made on the talks.

They said: 'There has still been no kick-off on money, Britain still refuses to accept anything  - either the methodology, or the sum.

This blocks everything else, there won't be any real progress over the next two months, clearly that won't create grounds for opening phase two on trade.

'On citizens' acquired rights, it's a mixed picture. We have a list of things we agree on, disagree on and are some way in between. But that at least allows us to negotiate.'

Another official said: 'Diplomats said that on Ireland, talks have not moved beyond restating positions that have already been presented in public.

'They have actually not discussed the Irish border in any detail, there were no technical talks at all.'  



Britain and Brussels are locked in a row over the future role of the European Court of Justice in Britain after Brexit.

Theresa May has made it clear that Britain will finally be free form the EU court after we quit the bloc in March 2019 - but Brussels wants it to continue to dictate rules governing the rights of EU nationals.

However, only yesterday Chancellor Philip Hammond said he hoped the next stage of talks - which will include discussion of a future trade deal - will begin in September or October.

The negative briefings from Brussels briefings comes after a British government minister reportedly warned the UK could walk out ofBrexit talks if the EU refuses to back down over the ECJ.

The minster said there is a 'very good chance' the UK will leave the talks unless Brussels drops its uncompromising demand and accepts Britain's courts will be supreme after Brexit.

The government minister said the EU's current stubborn position 'is a very, very big problem indeed'.

The minister told The Express: 'If they [the EU] don't budge on that issue then we will have to walk away'.

Contingency plans are being drawn up by all government departments, the minister said 'there is a very good chance we