MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK sets out post Brexit papers; EU insists citizens rights, financial settlement and Ireland come first

A position paper calls for goods already on the market to be allowed to remain on sale in the UK and EU without additional restrictions.

The UK government has set out proposals to ensure trade in goods and services can continue on the day the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. A position paper calls for goods already on the market to be allowed to remain on sale in the UK and EU without additional restrictions. It also calls for consumer protections to remain in place.

 The Brexit department aims to keep pressure on the EU ahead of the third round of talks in Brussels next week.

A second paper calling for a reciprocal agreement to ensure continued confidentiality for official documents shared by Britain with its EU partners while it was a member state has also been published on Monday.

Brussels is refusing to discuss future arrangements, such as trade, until citizens' rights, the UK's “divorce bill” and the Northern Ireland border have been settled. EU leaders reiterated their stance last week as the UK published proposals about new customs arrangements.

Brexit minister David Davis said: “These papers will help give businesses and consumers certainty and confidence in the UK's status as an economic powerhouse after we have left the EU.

”They also show that as we enter the third round of negotiations, it is clear that our separation from the EU and future relationship are inextricably linked.

“We have already begun to set out what we would like to see from a future relationship on issues such as customs and are ready to begin a formal dialogue on this and other issues.”

But European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein said the UK's position papers would not alter the framework for talks drawn up by chief negotiator Michel Barnier and approved by the other 27 EU member states.

“There is a very clear structure in place, set by the EU27, about how these talks should be sequenced and that is exactly what we think should be happening now,” Winterstein told a Brussels press conference.

“So the fact that these papers are coming out is, as such, welcome because we see this as a positive step towards now really starting the process of negotiations.

”But as Michel Barnier has said time and again, we have to have sufficient progress first on the three areas of citizens' rights, financial settlement and Ireland, and only then can we move forwards to discussing the future relationship.“

He added: ”Hopefully we can make fast progress on the three areas I have mentioned because once we have reached sufficient progress there, we can move on to the second stage.“

A Downing Street spokesman said: ”Both sides need to adopt a flexible approach. We are working at pace. We are confident we will make sufficient progress.

“David Davis has said we want to move to the next stage in October.”