EU offers the UK no concessions in early Brexit talks
The EU wants more clarity on the UK’s position
Brussels — EU negotiator Michel Barnier stuck to a hard line at the end of the second round of Brexit talks, refusing to offer concessions and telling his British counterpart, UK Brexit secretary David Davis, that he still wanted more clarity on the UK’s position. "The first round was about organisation, the second about presentation, the third must be about clarification," Barnier told reporters in Brussels on Thursday. Four days of talks in the Belgian capital have succeeded mainly in establishing the areas where the EU wants more detail or movement from the UK: the clock is ticking until Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019, but the UK cannot begin talks on the free-trade agreement it wants with the EU after Brexit until "sufficient progress" has been made on the issues discussed this week. The next round of talks will be held in the end of August. ‘Flexibility’ required Both sides want to move to the next stage and open those trade talks when EU leaders hold a summit in Brussel...
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