(29 June 2020) – The EU and Britain launch an intense five weeks of negotiations on a deal to define their post-Brexit relations, with London keen to wrap things up quickly.
The new round of talks in Brussels will be the first to be held face-to-face since the coronavirus shutdown combined with the two sides’ entrenched positions to stall progress.
The meetings will alternate weekly between Brussels and London throughout July and at the end of August, as the teams learned on Sunday, British chief negotiator David Frost will be promoted to become Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s national security adviser.
Some commentators immediately suggested this could break the British side’s focus, but a UK spokesman insisted Frost’s new title does not mean he will be distracted from the ongoing discussions with his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier. (EurActiv)