LONDON: In a statement to Parliament on the progress of negotiations so far David Davis, DexEU secretary of state, said: ‘We remain committed to making as much progress as possible on those issues which are solely related to our withdrawal, but our discussions this week have exposed yet again that the UK’s approach is substantially more flexible and pragmatic than that of the EU as it avoids unnecessary disruption for British business and consumers.’ Davis reported ‘significant, concrete progress’ on the border issues relating to Northern Ireland and Ireland, saying there was a high degree of convergence on key issues, and an agreement to work up shared principles on the Common Travel Area.
The UK and EU have also agreed to carry out further technical work on cross-border co-operation under the Belfast Agreement. However, Davis conceded there remain ‘significant differences to be bridged’ on the question of the financial settlement once Britain quits the EU. He also said that talks around the UK’s withdrawal cannot be treated in isolation from the future partnership it seeks to create with the EU. ‘For example, on Northern Ireland it would be helpful to our shared objectives on avoiding a hard border to be able to begin discussions on how future customs arrangements will work. ‘Furthermore, if we agree the comprehensive free trade agreement we are seeking as part of our future partnership, solutions in Northern Ireland are of course then easier to deliver,’ Davis said. He suggested that while the UK is contesting the EU estimate of how much it should pay to settle its commitments before leaving, there may continue to be areas which the UK does choose to fund in future. ‘As I have said, the days of making vast yearly contributions to the EU budget will end when we leave. ‘But there may be programmes that the UK wants to consider participating in as part of the new partnership that we seek. ‘Naturally we need to work out which of those we want to pursue. We need to discuss them as part of talks both on our withdrawal from the EU and our future as their long-standing friend and closest neighbour,’ Davis said.
