MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU chief negotiator says Brexit talks are stuck in a state of deadlock

Barnier said trade talks were likely to be delayed by months, increasing the chance of no deal being done.

The European Union's chief negotiator on Brexit talks says negotiations with the United Kingdom are stuck in a state of deadlock. The EU wants to know what divorce bill Britain is prepared to pay before talks go any further. British officials, on the other hand, want to begin trade talks now, before they commit billions.

 Britain's Brexit Secretary David Davis insisted talks were going well but the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said a lack of agreement on a divorce bill was very disturbing for many Europeans.

Mr Barnier said trade talks were likely to be delayed by months, increasing the chance of no deal being done. He said British proposals on expatriate citizens' rights and the Irish border still failed the EU test, while London's refusal to spell out a detailed cash offer was “very worrying” for business.

With signs that nerves are fraying on both sides as less than 18 months remains before the deadline for Britain to leave the EU, some hard-line Brexit supporters want Prime Minister Theresa May to just walk out of talks.

Both negotiators repeated that they were ready for any eventuality including a collapse.

But, Mr Barnier warned, “no deal would be a very bad deal”.

Ms May herself said there had been “good progress” and welcomed Mr Barnier's talk of further progress “over the coming weeks”.