I negotiated the EU’s expansion. Here are the mistakes the UK must avoid repeating.

"In all areas, the U.K. continues to backtrack," says EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier, accusing Boris Johnson's government of distancing itself from the political declaration previously agreed with the bloc

With my Brexit Twitter hat on, let me share some details on the steps involved in getting to that agreement, and why it's unwise (read mad) to expect it to be done quickly. [thread]

"Not one of those things he promised us has been delivered. So I have seen no evidence that that man is capable of negotiating his way out of the tea room in the House of Commons, let alone us into the biggest market in the world." - Peter Kyle

PM dug into a corner by refusing to compromise on sovereignty but EU reached ‘pain threshold’

Britain is already heading for the worst coronavirus-induced slump of any major economy. Now fears are rising that businesses could be slammed by a second body blow this year — the failure of trade talks with the European Union.

Brexit negotiations "have been difficult" and "no solution has been identified" to the Irish backstop, the European Commission has said.

No 10 has repeatedly insisted the PM will stick with existing deadline.

'The most interesting point in @DavidGHFrost letter was the bit expressing incredulity at no European country being able to operate outside EU sphere. The EU is how countries of Europe (up until now, UK included) have come to organise their relationship over time.'

Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday it was still uncertain if a deal on the future relationship between the EU and the UK could be struck before the end of the year.

UK proposals for implementing Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland deserve detailed scrutiny. No doubt the Commission will soon oblige! Below = some first thoughts from me (moving from the general to the specific) pending more critical reading & cross-checking ...

The downbeat assessment comes as EU negotiator Michel Barnier describes the latest round of negotiations as "disappointing".

Michel Barnier’s new book (all 541 pages of it) takes a detailed look at the Brexit negotiations from the viewpoint of the EU chief negotiator himself.

'Do you think it's practical for us *the UK govt* to require/request multiple extensions?' / What does A50 have to say on the possibility of multiple extensions? / 'If you leave with no deal, you are no longer a member of the EU and you're treated as any other non member state.'

The battle for foreign investment is not a game conducted on public school playing fields. It is ruthlessly fought by governments armed with every trick in the book.

"Due entirely to its own choices, for which it should accept direct responsibility, the UK needs a transitional deal far more than the EU does." - quoted from Concluding remarks

German chancellor makes rare Brexit intervention at a crucial point in talks.

Poll finds just 25 per cent of voters think PM will get a deal which is good for Britain.

Angela Merkel has warned Britons will have to “live with the consequences” of Boris Johnson rejecting Theresa May’s plan to continue close economic ties with Brussels after Brexit.

Fishing crews have been "disastrously let down" by the government's failure to reach a deal with Norway, UK Fisheries chief executive has said.

Home Office says in letter that it cannot give unilateral assurances until status of Britons in other EU countries is protected.

A “sea-change in attitude” is needed from the UK Government if Scotland is to be given a meaningful role in future Brexit negotiations with the EU, a minister has said.

Bloc sources say Britain is trying to water down EU geographical protections

Memoirs of negotiations show how Brussels lost trust in Downing Street team.

The Brexit negotiations aren’t even over, but Michel Barnier is giving thought to writing a book on Britain’s exit from the European Union.

EU negotiator signals future relationship negotiations are on course for acrimonious start.

Differences remain on old stumbling blocks of governance, fish and level playing field.

EU’s chief Brexit negotiator claims there has been no progress on key issues.

The EU's chief negotiator has told MEPs that negotiations on a post-Brexit deal could continue until Wednesday but no further.

The U.K. needs to be “more realistic” in its demands as trade talks with the European Union continue this week, according to the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

EU negotiator sets out main obstacles to deal, including rights convention and fishing.

The Brexit negotiations aren’t even over, but Michel Barnier is already planning a book on the subject.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has described the tactics of the United Kingdom’s Brexit negotiating team as “deplorable”.

We knew leaving the EU would weaken us. Now we can see it will limit the ability of the government to rein in big tech.

Former prime minister Tony Blair claims the Brexit "nightmare" will not be over if the Tories win the election and take the UK out of the EU on 31 January.

'Too late' to strike a full agreement before December cliff-edge, study commissioned by ex-prime minister concludes - and Europe is staring down barrel of 'a deep recession'.

Irish backstop is already a compromise designed around British red lines, says Coveney.

Bid to break deadlock comes despite UK insisting ‘safety net’ was needed - whether talks succeeded or not.

Government refuses to commit to publishing any forecast of the costs to jobs and families.

‘On both sides, we should seriously consider whether the negotiations are feasible in such a short time,’ says Ursula von der Leyen

Talks in jeopardy as no breakthrough emerges in meeting with Ursula von der Leyen.

British negotiators in Brexit trade talks have rejected EU demands.

'Obviously if we can’t then we will have the very good option also of an Australian-style arrangement,' says PM.

Almost half of those questioned say they would like Britain to rejoin the European Union.

Boris Johnson has admitted the UK is currently heading for a no deal Brexit, with progress now “very difficult” as the two sides refuse to compromise.

Second phone call on Tuesday fails to convince UK to return to table.

EU’s Michel Barnier writes to opposition leader repeating offer of two-year extension.

Ivan Rogers says some in Downing Street appear to be ‘misjudging’ negotiations.

The EU has warned it may be "too late" to clinch a Brexit deal with Britain, adding that a "creative solution" was needed to avoid trade chaos.

UK government rejects ‘clunky institutional framework’ for foreign policy cooperation.

Simon Coveney says EU will not be rushed into signing an agreement.

Now, the country risks becoming an also-ran, losing its easy access to the huge EU common market, unable to strike a groundbreaking deal with the United States and on the brink of a trade fight with China.

DESPITE campaigning on the slogan that a deal was “oven ready”, Tory ministers expect the UK to crash out of European Union without a deal.

Talks likely to go well beyond summer, with stakes rising for British business.

Government must learn from mistakes ‘or we will all pay’, warns Tony Blair’s former chief of staff.

PM vowed to ‘take back control’ – but dithering has handed advantage to countries on other side of the table, Institute for Government says.

Terms on access to UK waters all but finalised, say Brussels sources, but issue of following EU laws remains an obstacle.

“The entirely avoidable Brexit crisis has had as much of an impact on UK businesses as the unforeseeable Covid-19 tragedy, and its costs are still rising."

Internal market bill would endanger future trade deals, says Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the US.

Britain and the EU are holding negotiations over the issue but Brussels is expected to maintain a hardline until the autumn.

France and Denmark thought to be most cautious about budging from current demands on fish caught in British waters.

EU thought to be preparing a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ offer for Boris Johnson within days.

A recurrent claim of the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum was that it would be easy for the United Kingdom, once it had decided to leave the EU, to agree with the larger countries of the Union, notably Germany and France ... But the misconception was illuminating for its misjudgement of the European Union and the solidarity between its members.

The Government handed over huge sums of money to the EU to translate negotiations and meetings for them.

Efforts by British negotiators to win changes to Theresa May’s Brexit deal are going badly, after talks in Brussels broke up without any progress to report and the EU Commission warned that “no solution” is in sight.

Michel Barnier offers the UK the option of allowing Great Britain out of the backstop. In Pavlovian fashion, Brexiteers cry foul, accuse EU negotiators of bad faith and engage in a broader blame game: it’s all Brussels fault.

This week RTÉ's Europe Editor Tony Connelly and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin look at: (Another) critical phase in the Brexit negotiations; Mrs Foster meets Mr Barnier; Concerns over the impact of Brexit on the rights enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.

Ambassador Declan Kelleher about the conduct of negotiations, red lines, the border on the island of Ireland, and the upcoming UK cabinet meeting at Chequers. / Jill Rutter, Institute for Government's Programme Director and an expert commentator on Brexit among other things. The IfG is seen as having an "up close" view of the UK government's thinking.

The EU's long-held insistence on level playing field provisions continues. How does the UK see its commitments to the Irish Protocol and the Political Declaration and what impact will deviation have on its credibility in other trade talks?

Despite downbeat warnings of divergent positions, the EU and UK will intensify efforts to make progress in talks in the week commencing July 20, 2020. Also, alarm bells sounded over potential WTO rule breaches in the UK & Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe takes the top Eurogroup job.

As Europe Editor Tony Connelly, London Correspondent Seán Whelan and Deputy Foreign Editor Colm Ó Mongáin try to cut through the noise on the Brexit talks stand-off, some 'working from home ambience' makes itself felt. The team looks ahead to what's on the table for face-to-face EU-UK talks next week.

Four hours of Brexit talks over Northern Ireland ended with 'no substantive agreement' - with the UK threatening to extend a sausage trading deadline while the EU threatened tariffs in return.

The delusion that the Brexit negotiations are ongoing, as discussed in my previous post, continues and in doing so becomes ever more surreal.

European Union and U.K. attempts to jump-start negotiations over the post-Brexit trading relationship in Northern Ireland have so far failed to make any progress, and diplomats see little chance for any substantial progress until they get past a key election scheduled for May.

The prime minister accused the EU of "abandoning" the talks as recently as Friday.

British chief negotiator David Frost and European counterpart Michel Barnier talked via video link today while Anti-Brexit campaigners stepped up calls for the December deadline to be delayed.

EU warns patience wearing “very thin” as tensions between the two sides escalate.

Michel Barnier accuses UK of "backtracking" on commitments but government sources accuse EU of offering only a "binary choice".

Brussels asks France to go easy on UK and lift ‘blanket’ travel ban on freight.

Britain’s chief negotiator, Sir David Frost, told a select committee hearing a decision will be made at 'leader level' next month.

Peter Ricketts says current negotiations will come to look simple as next phase takes hold. / The next stage of the Brexit negotiations are going to make the current mess look like a simple affair and will tie up the civil service for years, the former national security adviser and head of Britain’s diplomatic service has warned.

Britain's Brexit trade deal with the EU was determined by "quarrels, low blows, [and] multiple betrayals" by self-aggrandizing Tory MPs, Michel Barnier has written in his long-awaited memoirs.

Many EU member states are calling for a very hard line with the UK in talks on future relationship.

'I don't think we've got time for these games', chief negotiator says.

Brussels and London sources believe tortuous talks coming to a successful conclusion.

UK’s David Frost also warns of prospect of no deal but insists agreement can still be reached.

After another round of faltering talks, Brussels' chief negotiator says: "I simply don’t understand why we are wasting valuable time."

Barnier says PM’s acceptance of need for ‘evolution clause’ as standards diverge has unlocked talks.

Officials say talks are in ‘the end phase’ amid reports of agreement on level playing field.

The EU are preparing for 11 months of political stalemate and furious negotiating that, in Brexit style, will go right down to the wire.

Chief negotiator says deal is still unlikely.

Emmanuel Macron is urging the negotiators not to compromise while Angela Merkel is anxious that talks are not derailed.

Territory’s economy at risk unless UK reaches agreement with Madrid over ownership.

The new European Commission President spoke of her love of the UK, but warned of 'consequences' in negotiations.

The EU will look to gain the upper hand in the sequencing of the trade talks.

UK and European negotiators are meeting later today for yet another round of Brexit trade talks.

The sea of opportunity that Brexit was supposed to deliver has certainly dried up for Yorkshire’s fishermen. News that the UK and Norway have failed to reach a fishing deal for this year means boats like the Hull-based Kirkella remain tied up, possibly for good.

Angela Merkel has warned that a failure to strike a free-trade deal would be a defeat for both the EU and UK.

Episode one watches as the Europeans’ respect for a formidable negotiating opponent turns into frustration and incredulity as the British fail to present a united front. At moments funny and tragic, it ends with the debacle in December 2017 when Theresa May flies in to Brussels to finalise details of a deal and is publically humiliated by her coalition partner.

Europe watches on incredulously as divisions in the British parliament and cabinet become more bitter and leave the talks paralysed. Eighteen months after the referendum, Britain still does not know what it wants and spends more time discussing internally than negotiating with Europe. Respect for Britain turns to irritation and finally ridicule.

The UK Government's recent statements make a deal between the EU and UK less likely, regardless of whether that is the intent or not.

Despite what Boris Johnson claimed on Wednesday, this is far from the end of the saga, writes Jon Stone.

Brexiteers are not at all happy with the idea that the UK is on track to secure only 60 per cent of its objectives for a trade deal with the EU, saying “Brexit MUST mean Brexit”.

EU negotiator expresses frustrations at UK refusal to discuss key issues of transition. / Michel Barnier has suggested the UK is running down the clock in talks over the future trade and security relationship with the EU.

Negotiating teams stretch mid-November deadline with European Parliament vote expected just days before 31 December

"For others in the future, that will depend on the negotiations under way" on Britain's future relation with the EU, he said.

British trade experts have warned that the UK’s demands for a “Canada-style” Brexit trade deal with the EU are ‘unrealistic’.

Meeting of EU leaders this month will instead focus on post-Covid recovery and China relations.

Investigation could look at ballot wording, May’s red lines and negotiation strategy.

Carolyn Fairbairn says the UK economy is in ‘suspended animation’ while issue remain unresolved.

Sinn Féin accuses UK government of ‘Tory petulance’ claiming its leader Mary Lou McDonald had been excluded from the talks.

I've been tagged in this because I was on #Newsnight on the same panel, but I wasn't asked to respond to this claim about Dominic Raab. So I thought it might be helpful to share the actual clip from the Panorama documentary referenced, showing Barnier talking about Raab.

UK PM Boris Johnson had been wildly happy about his new EU exit deal; then he introduced a law undermining both it, and the last round of trade negotiations. Speaking with two former permanent secretaries of the UK’s EU exit department, Matt Ross asks whether Johnson is applying firm leverage – or deliberately sabotaging the trade talks.

BREXIT secretary Michael Russell says failing to halt the exit from the EU during the coronavirus pandemic will leave the UK facing an “economic Stone Age” while the rest of Europe recovers.

With the spread of the coronavirus casting serious doubts over whether the UK and EU can reach a final deal by the end of the year, Georgina Wright says the EU believe it is only a matter of time before a new extension is negotiated.

UK-EU meetings cancelled as Europe fights spread of the virus.

Survey finds support from both Conservative and Brexit Party voters for extension of transition period

Theresa May’s former deputy says public and business realise coronavirus should be the priority.

The Hull-based Kirkella, would catch 10 per cent of fish sold in UK chip shops before it fell victim of failed post-Brexit negotiations with the Norway.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis was mocked and criticised by Brussels figures during torturous EU exit negotiations, with one adviser suggesting he did not “give a f**k” about the Irish border, a new documentary reveals.

Despite its long membership, Britain has seriously failed to grasp the way the EU works, writes N Piers Ludlow (LSE). Many of the stickiest points in the Brexit negotiations, including the Northern Ireland backstop and the decision to trigger Article 50 so early, reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of how the bloc operates.

The progress made in post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU has been disappointing, Michel Barnier has said.

The CBI has recently called for a new trade deal with the European Union and Rishi Sunak saw himself forced to rule out the Swiss option. These are just examples of how little the UK understands how the European Union and the single market work. Nicholas Sowels lists many of the erroneous assumptions Britain has made ... ignoring that the four freedoms of movement ... are not just abstractions.

A disorderly Brexit would be a disaster for Britain and its citizens, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told Reuters, adding that the latest signals from London “do not raise excessive hopes for an agreement”.

Commission president draws attention to less well-known area where two sides are at odds.

Ex-deputy prime minister says ‘perfectly routine’ state aid compromise is on offer - and warns ‘Both sides stand to lose from a no-deal, but the UK more’.

Simon Coveney reportedly clashed with Jeremy Hunt over UK’s alleged attempts to isolate Ireland.

Legal action is also reportedly being considered by Brussels, and a top Democrat has warned a UK-US trade deal is at risk.

The EU’s Brexit chief has today warned the UK to not “further sour our relationship” by taking unilateral actions in Northern Ireland as negotiations between the two sides continue.

European Council president reveals frustration with prime minister - after they hold talks.

Former PM made ‘huge mistake’, says Michel Barnier – who backs Labour plan for post-Brexit veterinary deal.

For some weeks the British government has been planning a “shock and awe” campaign to warn British businesses that they have less than six months to prepare for Brexit; but the EU has beaten them to it.

EU leaders have dropped a pledge to "intensify" Brexit negotiations after this week's summit, in signs that Brussels is prepared to call Boris Johnson's bluff on his threat to walk away from trade talks.

Macron insists there is no margin for negotiation over French fishing rights.

Hopes of a breakthrough at European Council meeting fade.

Downing Street has called on EU leaders such as Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to intervene and find a political way out of the impasse.

The EU is "negotiating with a partner it simply can't trust" in post-Brexit talks, Ireland's foreign minister has said.

Political declaration but not withdrawal agreement could be re-opened, Michel Barnier says.

Phil Hogan has rubbished UK's 'global Britain' plan, and said it would become a “medium-sized” nation after Brexit.

UK set to lose right to transfer refugees to other EU countries under Dublin regulation.

The European Union sees a path towards a compromise on a trade deal with Britain but London must first be more realistic in what it expects to achieve, an adviser to the EU’s chief trade negotiator said on Thursday.

The EU has published contingency plans in case of the possible collapse of Brexit trade talks with the UK.

‘If there isn’t good news by then ... time is up,’ says senior EU diplomat

Chief negotiator Michel Barnier says 'the EU sets its own conditions for opening up its markets for goods and services'

Michel Barnier says further negotiations would be pointless if UK does not change stance says further negotiations would be pointless if UK does not change stance.

The European Union is taking a defiant tone as the standoff over resuming post-Brexit trade negotiations with the United Kingdom continues.

Pessimism in London and Brussels over the prospect of a deal amid deadlock over state aid and fisheries.

An EU official has urged Boris Johnson to take the ‘unique and highly attractive’ offer it has made to the UK which it says has never been offered to any country before.

European Commission vice-president says Brussels wants to get ‘Brexit done’ – while London refuses to talk about Northern Ireland.

Chief negotiator Michel Barnier warns of "serious difficulties" and accuses Britain of failing to engage on subjects laid out in the withdrawal agreement.

States voice concern that compromise may go too far and no deal is preferable.

Tánaiste criticises ‘language of enemies’ in British media Brexit coverage.

Ireland's deputy prime minister has warned the European Union will not renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal agreement, regardless of who succeeds Theresa May as prime minister.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier complained of lack of respect and engagement by UK

MEPs demand UK stays tied to regulations for market access.

The outcome being pursued by the prime minister in the Brexit trade talks will not avoid costly friction at the border.

The UK’s biggest press regulator has accused the Express website of “inflammatory” reporting during a delicate period of UK and EU negotiations on fishing last year.

Talks on quotas collapsed on Friday, endangering jobs and threatening to push up price of fish and chips.

Alexander Stubb, former Prime Minister of Finland, and Komal Sri-Kumar, founder and president at Sri-Kumar Global Strategies, examine the process of Brexit negotiations.

Brexit as an ideological project has stripped the government of any sense of basic pragmatism.

Fisheries is such a major issue in the UK-EU negotiations and a trade deal could be scuppered if an agreement is not reached between the two sides, a new academic report finds. / This is despite the fact that fishing represents only 0.1 per cent of UK gross value added (GVA) and for most EU member states, fishing amounts to 0.1% or less of their economic output.

Our government claimed that the Christmas Eve deal on fisheries “puts us back in control of our waters”; we have won our fish back; a bright future for the fishing industry. Remember, the fishery leaders themselves were not so impressed. The new share-out between the EU27 and the UK appeared to them to involve small gains and some losses.

France’s former Europe Minister, now an MEP, has hit out at the “eternal British mistake of believing that by dividing the EU, the UK will obtain what it wants”.

Trade talks between the EU and Britain could take 'three times longer' than Boris Johnson is planning, a French minister has warned.

Talks between Britain and the EU on the implementation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement in Northern Ireland have broken up without agreement.

Exclusion from Norwegian seas could be ‘nail in coffin’ for distant-water fleet.

The UK and the EU are continuing Brexit talks because, as game theory suggests, both sides want to avoid being blamed for the fallout, says Petros Sekeris.

Comments will be a blow to No 10, which had hoped Merkel would help break deadlock

Boris Johnson under ‘wrong impression that he can pull off negotiating at the 11th hour,’ says EU official.

Flagging trade talks have seen little progress.

Britain would have no more than a few months to negotiate a new trade agreement with Brussels, a process that typically takes years.

'...it is a good time to take stock of the Gibraltar strand of Brexit and how that intertwines with the Brexit saga and, ultimately, to the extent that it does represent a certain kind of completion, a good time to take stock of Brexit itself.'

"Our approach is going to be achingly pragmatic," the Cabinet Office minister said.

Although we have left the EU, there are still many issues to be resolved. One of the biggest dangers is that if the NI Protocol breaks so will the UK-EU trade deal.

No-deal exit would trigger complex negotiations, argues former top DexEU civil servant.

The UK and European Union are poised to enter the final stretch of negotiations over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. After years of distrust and tension both sides are optimistic that a settlement is within reach.

Some of the world’s leading Brexit analysts tell Adam Forrest how they assess the chances of a UK-EU free trade deal before 31 December.

The course of Brexit was set in the hours and days after the 2016 referendum. / It was at 6:22 a.m. on June 24, 2016 — 59 minutes before the official tally was unveiled — that the European Council sent its first “lines to take” to the national governments that make up the EU.

The sale of a Hull-registered trawler, with the loss of 25 local jobs, to Greenland, has been described as “a foretaste of what might happen to other distant-waters vessels” if the government does not change course.

The IMF has suggested the UK and the EU should not "add to uncertainty" from coronavirus by refusing to extend the period to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal.

The European Union and the U.K. are preparing to enter an intense phase of negotiations starting next week aimed at overcoming the dispute over their post-Brexit trading relationship well ahead of the anniversary of Northern Ireland’s peace agreement in April, according to people familiar with the matter.

'These slides are for presentational and information purposes only and we represented to the Council Working Party (Article 50) on 14 January 2020. The contents are without prejudice to discussions on the future relationship.'

Simon Coveney urges UK government to ‘behave as modern democracies’ should and honour international agreements.

EU must continue to monitor and ensure that the British hold up their side of the bargain.

Our recent #IsolationInsight event looked at the state of the Brexit negotiations, considering where they are, what’s happening and where the talks might go, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Negotiator Hiroshi Matsuura says Japan is giving U.K. six weeks to strike a post-Brexit trade deal.

Britain could be pressured into bad deal to replace EU's agreement with East Asian country.

Jeremy Corbyn has conceded that Brexit may have to be delayed to allow Labour to get a better deal with the EU.

Ex-EU ambassador says PM’s ‘strategy errors’ will make good trade deal harder to achieve.

Move threatens to collapse talks that PM has said must be completed within weeks.

Insiders reject inference of division among EU members on Northern Ireland issue.

Brussels suspicions come as European commission chief warns Britain to abide by Northern Ireland protocol.

About 150 delegates were due to arrive next week for three days of talks.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will join a video-conference with EU leaders on Monday, keen to make headway in negotiations on a future EU-UK relationship, but officials in Brussels expect no breakthrough in the Brexit deadlock.

French government wants stronger UK commitments on ‘level playing field’ with EU

Simon Coveney warns talks may collapse amid fishing rights impasse

Latest round of negotiations delayed last week as governments scramble to contain outbreak.

Former UK ambassador Ivan Rogers says PM’s negotiating strategy was doomed to fail

Speaking to Andrew Marr, Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin said it's important to get a good Brexit deal, and that it is still possible, even though the deadline is close.

Key excerpts from the newly published diaries of the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.

‘We’ve only been negotiating for nine months. We’ve needed at least five years for all the previous agreements’

EU chief negotiator blasts back at UK counterpart's letter.

There remain "serious" differences between the UK and EU after the first round of trade talks, the bloc's chief negotiator has said.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has accused the UK of dragging its feet over post-Brexit negotiations, at the end of the second round of talks on the future relationship.

The Northern Ireland secretary admitted that the Government was intending to break international law - specifically the EU Withdrawal Agreement, which sets out how Britain and the EU would agree new rules on trade between Britain and Northern Ireland.

Music industry figures say they are yet to see any proof of negotiations with European Union countries on post-Brexit touring, or any details about those talks, despite government promises to the contrary.

'I remain convinced that with mutual respect and constructive engagement by the #UK across the board, on all issues of the negotiating table, we can move forward in the limited available time.'

The UK's chief Brexit negotiator has said the government is not "scared" of walking away from talks without a trade deal ready to come into force in 2021.

Leaving the EU confronts my former colleagues with a greater challenge than Whitehall has faced for generations.

New Zealand is "very frustrated" with the pace of post-Brexit trade talks with the UK, the country's deputy prime minister has said.

Minette Batters decries trade deal with Australia and New Zealand. / The president of the National Farmers’ Union has accused the government of using British food producers as a “pawn” in post-Brexit trade deals.

Spokesman for Boris Johnson says hopes of meeting deadline in December are dwindling

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that Ireland would not be carrying out bilateral negotiations with the UK in relation to no-deal Brexit planning.

‘The UK has been taking three steps back from the original commitments,’ says EU negotiator.

A deal to allow UK trawlers to fish in Norwegian waters will not happen until at least next year, an MP has claimed.

Contrary to recent reports, the European Union knows Britain could walk away and is preparing accordingly.

Brussels offers more negotiations next week, but Downing Street says ‘The trade talks are over’.

Leo Varadkar says UK and EU will still have to negotiate, with same problems on agenda.

Negotiations break up in familiar acrimony - forcing Boris Johnson to abandon deadline for breakthrough by end of July

The lack of serious negotiation over the Northern Ireland Protocol has been a "terrible dereliction of duty" by the UK government, Lord Mandelson has said.

'The Brexiters have no more idea in private than they do in public about what they are doing. Predictions based upon their concealed intent project on to them a competence they simply don’t possess.'

The collapse of Liz Truss’s authority is the logical conclusion of the anti-EU cult that has wrecked Britain’s economy over the last six years. / When asked about Brexit, Carney managed to sound diplomatic while also lobbing a hand grenade. “Put it this way,” he said. “In 2016 the British economy was 90% the size of Germany’s. Now it is less than 70%.”

Kirsty Wark interviews Pascal Lamy, former EU trade commissioner and former director general of the World Trade Organisation.

Talks to give U.K. financial services firms access to the European Union’s single market after Brexit have been put on hold, according to a government minister.

Negotiators hope an agreement can be struck in the first quarter of next year.

Michel Barnier and David Frost will resume talks on Thursday via video call, after a fortnight of face-to-face meetings

Prime minister expected to press EU leaders to dedicate attention to faltering negotiations.

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, was downbeat in his press conference after the conclusion of the talks.

The pound rebounded from a one-week low after the U.K. signaled it will continue Brexit trade talks beyond Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Oct. 15 deadline.

A majority of the British public would blame Boris Johnson if Brexit talks fail to reach a deal, a new poll has found.

The director general of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) says that it in light of the massive disruption to supply chains being caused by the coronavirus crisis, it would be irresponsible of the UK government to try to abide by the timetable for ending its Brexit transition period.

Improvements ‘essential’ to rescue services trade, peers say – warning ‘too much is at stake if we don’t’.

A new report has been published revealing that the UK’s economy could be boosted by 2.2 per cent just by more deeply aligning with the EU.

The Prime Minister appeared to play down the prospect of an imminent agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, amid speculation one could be announced early next week.

Government ignored legal advice over proposed withdrawal agreement changes.

Progress "has not been good" in negotiations to reach a post-Brexit trade deal, the Tánaiste (Irish deputy PM) has said.

Economic hardship and war have not pushed Europe’s nations apart, but closer together.

In his recent book, 9 Lessons in Brexit, Sir Ivan addresses the failures of the political class, and outlines the flaws in the UK’s Brexit strategy thus far. He also argues that the EU should think strategically about the long-term relationship with the UK as an important economic and security partner in the future.

It is understandable, and even desirable from a business perspective, that many of the UK's demands on EU are ahemm, 'ambitious'. ...

What’s Happening? The fifth round of negotiations between Britain and the European Union ended with both sides saying an agreement is way off.

The EU and UK can’t agree on the best approach to state aid rules. However, it’s in the best interests of both parties to compromise on the issue.

EU officials have derided the British Government’s ‘chaotic’ approach to negotiations and said the much-reviled ‘Swiss mess’ is ‘not on the table’.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that Brexit negotiations are "at the very end" and if a deal cannot be done on the future EU-UK relationship and on trade then the focus will shift very soon to a no deal scenario.

The supreme irony is that, despite all those Vote Leave promises, Brexit is making it harder to control UK borders.

The EU fears that the UK government is deliberately stalling on Brexit trade deal negotiations, and may secretly be aiming to exit European trade arrangements without first agreeing a new deal.

'We cannot continue to have crisis after crisis around the uncertainty and the brinksmanship of Brexit negotiations'

The fact that intelligent people are going round and round in circles unable to solve solvable problems suggests that there is a deeper problem.

While a Brexit deal is about politics for the UK, it’s simply a trade deal for the EU. Boris Johnson’s behaviour in the talks shows a worrying ignorance about the reality

Martin Wolf: Britain’s demands for its negotiations with the EU are unrealistic.

One key finding of my report is that – contrary to claims and opinion otherwise both in government and/or the media – there is no evidence of bias against Brexit by the Civil Service or civil servants. I found no civil servants who attempted to frustrate or disrupt the Brexit negotiations due to their alleged anti-Brexit or pro-European sentiments.

Theresa May is facing growing calls to say she would delay Brexit rather than leave the EU if no deal is in place by the end of March.

The prime minister is pinning her strategy on securing a concession to mitigate the indefinite backstop arrangement.

Brussels’ chief negotiator says talks often go backwards as UK fails to grasp EU red lines.

Politicians also told not to use term 'Brexit' when talking about UK's EU departure in public.

Revealed: EU chief negotiator’s diaries, The Great Illusion, give blow-by-blow account of moves behind UK’s departure.

No-deal looms as deadline little more than a month away.

A fifth round of talks will close tomorrow and there is still no breakthrough on key issues, including fishing rights and how closely we follow EU rules.

The UK should consider the trade-offs it is willing to make in a post-Brexit deal, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says.

Government now rejecting EU oversight of implementing Northern Ireland agreement.

The EU and UK are continuing talks on post-Brexit trade, amid mounting speculation that they are close to agreeing a deal.

'Deal is done': New Brexit deal for Northern Ireland is agreed.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has accused the UK of "backtracking" on its commitments in the latest round of post-Brexit trade talks.

But EU warns UK does not understand position it has got itself into.

Verhofstadt says it would be a ‘hell of a job’ to achieve success using David Frost’s approach,

Disagreements remain on fishing rights and so-called level playing field guarantees.

Britain could end up giving EU fishing fleets access to its waters in exchange for favourable terms on the continent for City financiers, the bloc's trade chief has suggested.

The government has agreed to drop controversial legislation on Brexit that would have broken international law.

No 10 said to have reached a compromise over fishing vessels to be majority British-owned in future.

Britain risks weeks without trade transition plans from 1 January after missing EU parliament Sunday deadline.

The government does not understand how the EU works and so embarks on negotiating strategies that are doomed to fail, Britain’s former ambassador to Brussels has said.

The UK has to "knuckle down" to get a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU by the end of the year, the Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

He said the UK could not both refuse to extend the transitional period and slow down the progress of talks.

Leaked German government report shows Britain has been requesting special access. / Britain wants to ‘approximate the position of a member state as closely as possible’ when it comes to working with Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, the leaked report states.

Shortened trade talks will result in ‘flimsy’ deal, former British prime minister says

No 10 had ‘change of attitude’ after pressure from business, says commissioner.

Michael Gove is in Brussels trying to plot a way through the row over Northern Ireland, which risks blowing up wider Brexit talks.

Legislation has been published by the British government this evening which overrides the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Ireland and severely breaches both the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and international law.

No 10 unmoved even after Barnier’s offer prompts Gove to make U-turn at dispatch box.

The government will need to hire at least one new negotiator every day until June to plug the staffing gap, in a situation branded "farcical and a real risk".

The coronavirus has increased the challenges of negotiating a new trade agreement for the UK before December 31.

Trade commissioner suggests Britain is planning to blame Covid-19 for Brexit 'fallout'.

The UK government has said it remains “absolutely committed” to Brexit negotiations and the December 2020 transition date despite the coronavirus outbreak limiting talks between the two sides.

EU chief negotiator says Boris Johnson’s negotiator has been disappointing

Britain and the European Union clashed on Thursday over the chances of securing a free trade agreement, with Brussels deeming it “unlikely” but London holding out hope one could be reached in September.

Michel Barnier also accused Boris Johnson’s government of rowing back on commitments made in writing by Britain at the point before exit.

New Zealand has protested at the lack of progress in talks over a post-Brexit trade deal, insisting the UK is not “match-fit” for negotiations.

A post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU "seems unlikely" at this stage, the bloc's negotiator has said.

EU's chief negotiator blames UK for failure of progress in talks.

A comprehensive free trade deal between the UK and Norway is at risk of collapsing as the Christian Democrat party fears such a pact would hit farmers in Scandinavia’s richest country too hard.

Negotiations with Brussels to drag on into the autumn — and there’s no sign a deal is imminent with Washington.

The most important Brexit event of the week came and went with relatively little fanfare, yet it marks a significant moment.

European commission chief picks out contradictions in UK approach to post-Brexit deal.

These sticking points include fishing rights, rules on state subsidies for business and arrangements for policing any deal.

Britain and the European Union will restart talks on Monday over their future relationship, with time running out to get an agreement after a six-week interruption caused by coronavirus.

The dangerous threat of a no-deal Brexit will only rear its head again in six months time, just as we’re striving to save jobs and fix our economy. Even if we are able to reach a deal, it will fall short of what’s best for us.

Everyone is fishing in the same pond. Stocks built up in readiness for Brexit are having to be replenished. If another pandemic strikes, we’ll hardly be in the best position to get through it.

A political decision principally made by the prime minister alone will determine what sort of exit from the EU we start 2021 with.

David Davis told me ... that the "row of the summer" would be ... the EU's desire to negotiate money we owe, the rights of migrants and Ireland's borders before talking about a trade deal. / Today, the Brexit secretary became the pussycat of the summer - in the eyes of Brussels - as he declared his pleasure that Brexit negotiations would indeed be in the sequence desired by the rest of the EU.

If politics trump economics, neither Brussels nor London may have much incentive to get any agreement.

"Only as true friends can, I want to be very honest about what lies ahead of us." The words of the new European Commission president as she headed to Downing Street and her first face-to-face meeting with Boris Johnson on Wednesday.

We could end up with tonnes of fish that Brits don't even like and no way of selling them to the EU before they rot.

My former Conservative colleagues: ask yourselves what Boris Johnson has achieved, and heed the damning answer

A wide-ranging free trade pact between the UK and Norway will have to be pushed back as Norway’s coalition government failed to reach an agreement today.

Boris Johnson to reveal whether negotiations are over – plunging trade with EU into turmoil in 19 days’ time

‘Same significant divergences persist’, EU negotiator says – with just 35 days left to avert a crash-out.

We spoke to the former Conservative Chancellor, Ken Clarke, about the budget and UK trade post-Brexit.

The European Parliament has voted to ratify the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), with 660 out of 697 MEPs voting in favour of the deal, but a Brexit expert has said it is only the beginning.

'We found the best possible deal and we are not in a souk where we are going to bargain for the next five years'