UK, EU to assess Brexit negotiations

Negotiators from the UK and European Union (EU) will outline Brexit progress that has been made so far as the latest round of talks have come to an end, the media reported on Thursday.

The UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's Michel Barnier will meet on Thursday to assess the past four days of talks, reports the BBC.

The two sides meet for four days each month, with this week's talks aimed at scoping out points of difference and common ground in those areas that have been identified as requiring urgent attention.

After the Brexit process was effectively put on hold during the June 8 UK General Election, the process has moved up a gear this week, with 98 British officials engaged in different streams of work at one stage, the BBC reported.

The UK and EU have made separate offers on residency rights, each side saying they want an early agreement to give certainty to the 3 million EU nationals in the UK and the 1.2 million British expats on the continent.

But both sides are adamant that any deal must be reciprocal.

It has been reported that final agreement on the size of any so-called "divorce bill" that the EU believes the UK should pay is unlikely to be sealed until late 2018.

--IANS

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