The British government will be warned on Monday not to ignore the unfinished business of the EU divorce if it wants to secure a Brexit trade and transition deal.
Six weeks after EU leaders gave their blessing to moving the Brexit talks on to future arrangements, frustration is mounting that the UK is “not ready” to complete the divorce, which the EU deems essential for a deal before Britain’s departure on 29 March 2019.
In December the EU declared that London had made sufficient progress on the Brexit divorce issues of the Irish border, money and protecting citizens’ rights, but the government is perceived in Brussels to have made little advance since.
The Irish border issue is the most difficult hurdle, but negotiators must also resolve a host of technical matters, including Euratom, police cooperation and the role of the European court of justice.
European affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday will issue a “gentle reminder” not to lose sight of these issues, one senior official told the Guardian.
“The feeling here in Brussels is that the UK is pushing these on to the back burner and is now focusing more attention on the transition and the future,” the official said. “The message is don’t lose this out of sight, because we want to have it settled as well. And if we don’t have it settled this thing could go to the wire.”
British and EU negotiators held low-key talks in Brussels this month to discuss the issues, but progress was slow, according to several sources. One EU diplomat voiced frustration that the British side seemed “not ready” to advance on the topics: “They actually haven’t done much … We need to get cracking on the outstanding issues of which there are many
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
