Theresa May's Florence speech has given these negotiations much needed momentum.
We worked constructively this week. We clarified certain points. But without making any great steps forward.
We still have a common goal: the desire to reach an agreement on the UK's withdrawal and to outline our future relationship, when the time comes. From the EU side, this is what President Donald Tusk very clearly said three days ago.
Our negotiations are framed within in this perspective.
We share the same objectives as the UK:
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To protect the rights of all citizens concerned regarding the consequences of withdrawal.
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To preserve the peace process in Northern Ireland and cooperation on the island of Ireland.
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To honour at 28 the commitments taken at 28.
For us, from the EU side, achieving and realising these three big objectives is the condition for engaging in a discussion, as soon as possible, on a new ambitious, long-lasting partnership.
Where are we at the end of this fifth round?
More precisely, on each of the main subjects linked to the UK's withdrawal:
1/ On citizens' rights:
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We have two common objectives:
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That the Withdrawal Agreement has direct effect, which is essential to guarantee the rights of all citizens in the long-term.
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That the interpretation of these rights is fully consistent in the European Union and in the United Kingdom.
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On these points, we will continue to work on the specific instruments and mechanisms which will allow us to translate this into reality. This means for us the role of the European Court of Justice.
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Furthermore, divergences still exist on the possibility of family reunification and on the exportation of social benefits after Brexit, both of which we want.
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For us, for example, it is important that any European citizen living in the UK can – in 10 or 15 years' time – bring his/her parents to the UK, as would be the case for British citizens living in the EU.
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In the same vain, an EU citizen who has worked for 20 years in the UK should be able to move to an EU Member State and still benefit from his/her disability allowance, under the same conditions as British citizens in the EU.
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Finally, an important point for the Member States of the Union: the UK has informed us of its intention to put in place a simplified procedure which allows citizens to assert their rights. We will study attentively the practical details of this procedure, which should really be simple for citizens.
2/ On Ireland, ladies and gentlemen:
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This week we advanced on the joint principles on the continuation of the Common Travel Area and I welcome this.
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We continued our intensive work on mapping out areas of cooperation that operate on a North South basis on the island of Ireland.
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There is more work to do in order to build a full picture of the challenges to North-South cooperation resulting from the UK, and therefore Northern Ireland, leaving the EU legal framework.
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This is necessary in order to identify the solutions.
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This week, we agreed that the six principles proposed by the EU in September would guide our work on protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions.
3/ Finally, on the financial settlement:
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Theresa May confirmed in her Florence speech that the UK will honour commitments it has made during the period of its membership. This is an important commitment.
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The UK told us again this week that it still could not clarify these commitments. Therefore, there was no negotiation on this, but we did have technical discussions which were useful, albeit technical.
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We are, therefore, at a deadlock on this question. This is extremely worrying for European taxpayers and those who benefit from EU policies.
David Davis' closing remarks at the end of the fifth round of EU exit negotiations in Brussels
Citizens’ rights
On citizens’ rights, we have made further progress to give British citizens in the EU and EU27 citizens in the UK the greatest possible legal certainty about the future.
Our legal orders will, in the future, be distinct and different.
So this week we explored ways of making sure the rights we agree now will be enforced in a fair and equivalent way.
And in a way that gives citizens confidence that their rights will be upheld.
We have also explored ways in which we could fulfil the Prime Minister’s commitment to implement the Withdrawal Treaty fully into UK law which would give confidence to EU citizens living in the UK that they would be able to enforce their rights - as are set out in the Agreement - in UK courts.
And we have discussed ways of ensuring the consistent interpretation of the concepts of EU law that will underpin much of our Agreement.
While we have not yet arrived at a single model that achieves this we have explored creative solutions and are confident that we’ll reach an agreement soon.
We have also focussed this week on the other remaining issues on which we have not yet arrived at a solution and Michel referred to a few of them. These are:
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the right to bring in future family members;
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to export a range of benefits;
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to continue to enjoy the recognition of professional qualifications;
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to vote in local elections;
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to move within the 27 as a UK citizen;
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to leave for a prolonged period and yet continue to enjoy a right to remain or permanent right of residence on return.
These issues are not easy, but we have approached them with a shared spirit of trying to find solutions and both teams will now reflect further on that.
We are taking a pragmatic approach. As demonstrated by our offer of a guaranteed right of return for settled citizens in the UK in return for onward movement rights for UK citizens currently living in the EU. We look forward to hearing the European Union’s response to this.
I want to highlight one particularly productive area of our talks this week.
And I recognise that there has been some anxiety about EU citizens’ rights to settled status in the United Kingdom.
But today I can confirm that we want to reassure those European citizens living in the UK that their rights and status will be enshrined in UK law by the Withdrawal Agreement.
And yes, there will be a registration process but the administration process will be completely new. It will be streamlined, and it will be low cost.
And in addition to that any EU citizen in the UK already in possession of a permanent residence card will be able to exchange it simply for settled status in a simple way. They will not have to go through the full application process again.
And to reassure those affected I can confirm that the tests associated with this process will be agreed and set out in our Withdrawal Agreement.
We will also make sure that citizens’ rights of review of - and redress for - any errors will be quick, accessible and fair.
I will set out our position on ensuring citizens’ future rights in a statement for the Commission, a written statement, which they can share with the European Union 27.
And as a result of our productive discussions, the Commission is also able to offer similar guarantees in return for those British citizens in the European Union.
This is a very welcome clarification and has built real confidence that the rights of EU citizens in the UK - and British citizens in the European Union - will continue to be accessible in the most straightforward way possible.
In summary, I think that this week of talks has brought us even closer to a deal that gives citizens rights to the legal certainty that they deserve.
Northern Ireland
I welcome the advances too that we have made on the discussions on Northern Ireland and Ireland.
This week we developed the joint principles on the continuation of the Common Travel Area.
Our teams have also mapped out areas of cooperation that operate on a North South basis.
As Michel said, there is more work to do here in order to build a fuller picture of how we overcome the challenges to North-South cooperation once the UK has left the European Union.
But I’m pleased to say we have made further progress here.
We have also agreed, based on critical guiding principles which both sides recognise, we will start working on a common understanding on possible commitments and undertakings necessary to effectively protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions.
I said last time that we were determined to tackle the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland by focusing creatively on specific solutions and we have begun to do so.
As the Prime Minister said in her statement to Parliament this week, “We owe it to the people of Northern Ireland—and indeed to everyone on the island of Ireland—to get this right.”
Financial settlement
On the financial settlement, we have continued in the spirit fostered by the Prime Minister’s significant statements in her Florence speech.
In line with the process agreed at our last round of talks, we have undertaken a rigorous examination of the technical detail where we need to reach a shared view.
This is not a process of agreeing specific commitments - we have been clear this can only come later.
But it is an important step, so that when the time comes we will be able to reach a political agreement quickly and simply.
Separation issues
On separation issues we have continued to work through the detail on a range of issues.
And while we have made good progress, particularly on those areas relating purely to our withdrawal, we believe these issues are dependent on discussions on our future relationship.
And as I’ve said before, we are ready and well-prepared to start those discussions.
Conclusion
So, our aim is to provide as much certainty as possible to business, citizens and the European Union.
And on this we are making real and tangible progress.
But I make no secret of the fact that to provide certainty we must talk about the future. [...]
David Davis' closing remarks
David Davis' update to the House of Commons on EU negotiations
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