‘No Excuse' For EU To Drag Out Trade Talks

The European Union now has “no excuses not to knuckle down” and reach a Brexit trade agreement, sources say.

- David Williamson

Brussels must stop dragging its feet and wake up to the fact that the UK is an independent country if trade negotiations are to succeed, an insider warned as talks continue this week.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had hoped the outline of a free trade deal would be completed this month, but the EU is accused of failing to agree on the more straightforward areas first.

Britain now wants both sides to get to work on the texts of agreements, prior to the Brexit transition phase finishing at the end of the year.

A Government source said: “Obviously everything needs to be up for discussion but it makes no sense to have everything going at the speed of the most difficult issues.

“Now they need to adapt their approach to make sure talks throughout the summer don’t suffer from unnecessary roadblocks.”