Barnier told ambassadors to the EU that the British government had been unable to provide sufficient clarity on its positions during the last week of talks, leaving him pessimistic about the future. One EU source told the Guardian that Barnier said if the negotiations continued as they had been going sufficient progress would not be made. “Negotiations to leave the EU are under way and we have already made good progress on a number of issues,” she said. “Government officials are working at pace and we are confident we will have made sufficient progress by October to advance the talks to the next phase. At a press conference following the last talks, Barnier himself said that information on the UK’s position on the divorce bill was “indispensable”.

Source: The Guardian July 27, 2017 12:11 UTC