Barnier demands UK clarify position on Brexit divorce bill
Britain needed to clarify its position on the Brexit divorce bill, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday after the first full week of talks with UK officials.
He added that there was still a “fundamental divergence” over the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.
Speaking at a news conference with UK Brexit Secretary David Davis, Barnier said citizens’ rights should be the EU's Court of Justice.
“There does remain one fundamental divergence on the way in which such rights would be guaranteed and on several other points, for example, the rights of future family members or the exports of certain social benefits.”
“A clarification of the UK position is indispensable for us to negotiate and for us to make sufficient progress on this financial dossier, which is inseparable from the other withdrawal dossiers."
“What we want - and we are working on this - is an orderly withdrawal for the United Kingdom, that’s decided. An orderly withdrawal means accounts must be settled."
“We know that agreement will not be achieved through incremental steps. As soon as the UK is ready to clarify the nature of its commitments, we will be prepared to discuss this with the British negotiators.”