Thursday, 2 November 2017

TALKS TO RESTART

The talks will begin again on the 9th and 10th of this month according to this joint statement (HERE) from Barnier and Davis. An agenda will be published shortly. It is not clear if this is a prelude to more intensive negotiations in the run up to the December summit or not. The EU council will meet again on the 14th and 15th of December when they will again decide if sufficient progress has been made.

If it is just two days of negotiation and nothing more, one wonders what can be achieved in that time on citizen's rights and the Irish border. The government could easily decide to pay more money, this wouldn't take any time at all but the other issues, particularly the border in Ireland, are far more problematic.

It is not a given that sufficient progress will have been made by December. It will require some movement by one side or both. Who makes the most movement will be fascinating.