After a brief summer break, teams from the European Union and the United Kingdom will resume negotiations next week on a trade agreement for the period after December 31.
The first six rounds did not get the parties much further than the conclusion that there are significant differences of opinion.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost kick off the week with a dinner in Brussels on Tuesday evening. From Wednesday, their teams will get back to work on points of contention such as fishing and fair competition for companies.
In addition to investments and trade in goods and services, the issue of supervision of agreements and dispute settlement is also on the table. Other themes are transport, social security and police and judicial cooperation.
Frost and Barnier will close the negotiation week with a working breakfast on Friday, although that point on the agenda has yet to be confirmed. The negotiation schedule will run until the beginning of October for the time being.
Barnier stresses that changes will be inevitable anyway if the UK leaves the internal market and customs union in five months. Companies and citizens must be ready for this, and the Frenchman tweeted last week in all kinds of European languages.
English