UK health minister hails 'good progress' in Brexit talks

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Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that Prime Minister Theresa May had made good progress in Brussels, where she and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker discussed the outline of Britain's future relations outside the EU.

"My understanding of the discussions last night are (is) that we've been making good progress on the future relationship," Hancock told BBC radio on Thursday.

"What we're negotiating now is how we settle the future relationship, the long-term relationship."

British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock leaves 10 Downing Street, where he was called to discuss the draft Brexit documents, in London, UK, November 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

No deal Brexit 'very damaging,' former French minister warns

The European Union's 27 national ambassadors will try on Thursday to finalize an outline declaration of future ties between the bloc and the United Kingdom ahead of a planned summit on Sunday.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, but the sides must yet approve a divorce deal and the accompanying outline of their new ties in the future. EU leaders hope to rubber-stamp the accord at Sunday's summit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to close all the gaps with the EU side in talks in Brussels on Wednesday and said she would return on Saturday, hoping a last-minute intervention will be enough to push the accord over the line.

Pro-EU protesters from SODEM (Stand in Defiance European Movement) demonstrate outside the Palace of Westminster in central London ahead of a crucial week of Brexit negotiations, November 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

Britain's disputed territory of Gibraltar is the biggest sticking point, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez digging his heels in before a local election in Andalusia.

Raising the stakes, German diplomats told their EU colleagues in Brussels that Chancellor Angela Merkel would not come to Brussels on Sunday for any further negotiations, meaning a text must be ready beforehand.

One diplomat said that was a message aimed as much at Britain – where May's plans have come under heavy fire from within her ruling Conservative Party – as at the bloc's own "nitpickers" such as Spain or France, which has sought more assurances of future access to Britain's rich fishing waters.

France and other countries have also asked for better guarantees that Britain would not be able to place products on the EU's single market after Brexit at lower prices due to undercutting labor, competition or labor standards.

From her side, May must also decide on a potential extension of a transition period after Brexit, which the bloc said could last until the end of 2022 at the latest.

Britain was also seeking a frictionless trade in goods after Brexit, which the EU does not allow without also following its rules on the free movement of people and services.

(Cover: British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) is welcomed by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in the Berlaymont, the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 21, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters