Thursday, August 31, 2017

"No decisive progress" In Brexit talks

The European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says there has been no decisive progress in this week's Brexit talks - while his British counterpart David Davis insists there has been. 
The two sides appeared further apart than ever at a press conference wrapping the third round of exit talks in Brussels. 
Elena Casas reports from Brussels. 

IN: "Every day brings us closer…"
OUT: SOC
DUR: 2:10


SCRIPT:
Every day brings us closer to the 29th of March 2019, the day Britain leaves the European Union, and it could crash out without a deal, says EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.
The key sticking point is Britain's exit bill - Barnier says Britain seems to believe it has no legal obligation to abide by its financial commitments.

SOT Michel Barnier
"EU taxpayers should not pay at 27 for the obligations undertaken at 28. It would not be fair. In July, the UK recognized that they have obligations beyond the Brexit date,  but this week they explained their obligations will be limited to their last payment before departure."

The EU says it has spending commitments that Britain has signed up to until at least the end of the current budget cycle in 2020. 
The UK minister for Brexit, David Davis, says Britain accepts it will have to pay something after it leaves - but has not revealed how Britain thinks that should be calculated.

SOT David Davis
"The European Union made a claim on the UK taxpayer for a large sum of money - unspecified but undoubtedly large - on the basis of what it determines to be our legal obligations, so the proper approach to that is to go through line by line and see whether we believe those legal obligations are correctly codified."

Davis says some progress has been made on other topics - notably the Irish border - but the EU says Britain's proposals for a technical fix to avoid creating a customs border are unworkable. 
The original plan was for these withdrawal questions to be resolved on by October so that talks can begin on trade - but Barnier says there is a long way to go.

Elena Casas, Brussels