EU: There has been insufficient progress in Brexit talks

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On Tuesday, the European Parliament overwhelmingly backed a motion saying Brexit talks had not made enough progress to begin the next phase, dealing a fresh blow to London's hopes of moving negotiations on to trade.

Members of the European Parliament (MEP) approved, by 557 votes to 92 against with 29 abstentions, a motion urging EU leaders to postpone a decision on whether enough has been achieved in talks in order to start discussing a future relationship, at their next summit starting on October 19.

With all the major groupings in the European Parliament backing the non-binding resolution, the result of Tuesday's vote was a foregone conclusion.

European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier , Belgium September 28, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Earlier, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told MEPs that while British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech in Florence last month had improved the mood in talks, "serious differences" remained on Britain's divorce bill, the rights of EU citizens living in Britain, and the fate of Northern Ireland.

Barnier told the parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, that May's speech had been "translated into negotiating positions" by her negotiating team led by Brexit minister David Davis.

But he warned of significant differences, in particular on how much Britain must pay as it leaves the bloc in March 2019. And he rejected accusations by eurosceptic British MEPs that the EU was trying to hold Britain to ransom in the talks.

"There is no ransom, no exit bill, there is only the fact that when you decide to leave, we ask you to settle your accounts – no more, no less than to pay what you agreed," Barnier said.

The EU says its seven-year, trillion-euro budget should not be thrown into chaos by Britain's exit, but Britain says a reported 100-billion-euro exit bill is excessive.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also said it was too soon to move on to the next phase of negotiations.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive at the Conservative Party's conference in Manchester, October 2, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"We first need to agree on the terms of the divorce and then we see if we can half-lovingly find each other again," Juncker told parliament.

Juncker also warned Britain not to try and "go over Michel Barnier's head" and negotiate directly with European leaders, saying he was the only one mandated to carry out Brexit talks.

The MEPs' resolution, backed by all the major political groups, is harsh on Britain's refusal so far to settle the exit bill, saying that the "absence of any clear proposals has seriously impeded the negotiations."

The fifth round of Brexit talks is due to start in Brussels on Monday.

Source(s): AFP