Yesterday, the 4th round of Brexit negotiations was concluded without sufficient progress. There was progress in some areas, such as citizen’s rights, concerning the direct application of the Withdrawal Agreement . However, the main stumbling block remains the financial settlement.
PM Theresa May stated on her speech in Florence that no Member State should pay more or receive less because of Brexit. Nonetheless, the UK intends to limit this to 2019-20. As for the EU, Mr. Barnier made clear that "the only way to reach sufficient progress is that all commitments undertaken at 28 are honoured at 28."
Next month, the European Council will meet and should decide whether or not sufficient progress was made on the 1st phase of the negotiations, which would allow the teams to start discussing the future trade relationship. The European Parliament supports Barnier’s view that not enough progress was made in this 4th round and will vote a resolution in Strasbourg next week, calling the European Council to postpone its assessment on whether sufficient progress has been made. October will be a crucial month for the Brexit negotiations. Let’s hope both sides reach a compromise so that talks can move forward!