Katy Balls Katy Balls

No. 10: EU must go further to restart Brexit talks

Michel Barnier (photo: Getty)

The government’s negotiations with the EU appear to be going a little better than their talks with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. While there is yet to an agreement on moving Greater Manchester into Tier 3, there has been a development on Brexit. On Friday, the Prime Minister used a video clip to warn the country to prepare for no deal. He complained that EU intransigence meant that unless there was a shift from Brussels, there was little point continuing the trade talks. Michel Barnier’s offer to come to the UK this week was declined and Michael Gove toured the television studios on Sunday insisting the UK is willing to go it alone if necessary. 

Now Barnier has moved — if not the whole way. The EU’s chief negotiator has offered an olive branch — telling the UK’s chief negotiator Sir David Frost that he is now able to ‘intensify’ talks and discuss legal texts.

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