Negotiators in Brussels say Theresa May will be able to claim a victory before Christmas as trade talks get going — but made clear the prime minister has used officials to signal financial concessions.

May’s Brexit adviser, Oliver Robbins, was told last week that EU officials need to see only a “single sentence” in writing to indicate Britain’s acceptance of budget commitments known as reste à liquider (RAL) and the UK’s share of the cost of MEP pensions and aid budgets. [...]

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