Brexit negotiations ‘moving forward with momentum’, says Barclay
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay insists the UK and EU are “moving forward with momentum” toward a Brexit deal after meeting chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels on Friday.
Barclay said the two sides shared a “common purpose” in trying to reach a new agreement and that he had held “serious, detailed discussion” with his counterpart.
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Barnier gave a more reserved account of the meeting, which he called “cordial” while insisting “lots of work has to be done in the next few days”.
The deadline for the UK to exit the EU is 31 October, just under six weeks away.
The negotiations come after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker admitted a new Brexit deal could still be reached by then in an interview with Sky News on Thursday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said some “progress” was being made following a meeting with Juncker in Luxembourg earlier this week.
However, a leaked memo from the European Commission said the UK’s proposals to replace the Irish backstop “do not amount to legally operational solutions and would have to be developed during the transitional period”.
It also said the UK’s ideas didn’t avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland or preserve the single market.
Following the meeting, Barclay said: “There’s a common purpose in Dublin, in London and here in Brussels to see a deal over the line.”
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He added that more “technical” discussions would happen next week.
Johnson is expected to meet European Council President Donald Tusk at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week for talks.
Barclay said this “underscores the purpose there is on both sides to get a deal and that is what we are working very hard to secure it”.