Britain and the EU are stuck in a “disturbing” deadlock over the Brexit divorce bill, though a breakthrough remains possible in the next two months, EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday.
The stalemate will stoke fears swirling in london and Brussels of a breakdown in talks that could see Britain leaving the European Union in March 2019 without an agreement to soften the blow.
Wrapping up a fifth round of talks with Britain’s David Davis, Barnier said he could not recommend to EU leaders at a summit next week that negotiations move on from divorce issues to talks on a post-Brexit trade deal.
The Frenchman reserved his most cutting comments for the issue of financial commitments, saying Britain had still not spelled out what Prime Minister Theresa May promised in a key speech in Florence, Italy, last month.