Neither the European Union nor the United Kingdom made any happy offers after this week's round of negotiations.
My job is to tell the truth, and the truth is that not much progress has been made this week, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said at a press conference in Brussels.
His British counterpart, David Frost, said in a statement that “progress is still limited, but the talks were characterized by a positive tone.”
The negotiations took place via online meetings in a number of weekly rounds since the beginning of March. However, both parties hope to be able to return to face-to-face meetings, perhaps as early as the end of June.
The discussion is also likely to get a boost from planned upcoming direct talks between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Great Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, a British spokesman says according to Reuters that even this meeting is likely to take place via the web.
Despite little progress, hope remains that an agreement can be agreed and entered into force as early as the turn of the year, when the UK's current transitional rules for leaving the EU expire.
The United Kingdom officially left the European Union on January 31 of this year, but is subject to transitional rules until the end of the year to make it easier for citizens and businesses. In order to regulate trade and various forms of cooperation after the beginning of this year, future relations are now being negotiated, under the leadership of Michel Barnier from the European Union and David Frost from Britain.
The negotiations take place in eleven different groups: trade in goods and services, investment, transport, energy, fisheries, conditions for equal competition, judicial and legal cooperation, participation in EU programmes, coordination of mobility and social security, thematic cooperation, governance and horizontal. Arrangements.
The agreement is estimated to be ready in October so it can be approved in time by the end of the year. If negotiations need to be extended, it is also possible to extend the UK's transition period after leaving the EU. However, in this case, a decision must be made by July 1st at the latest.
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