UK-EU to hold fourth round of Brexit talks

The fourth round of Brexit talks will begin here on Monday, a first opportunity for the European delegation to respond to British Prime Minister Theresa May's proposal of a two-year transition period for Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

However, European Union negotiators will be expecting more details on, for example, what payments the UK is prepared to make as it departs, informed sources told the BBC.

Next month, EU leaders are due to decide on separation issues, including the rights of citizens, the Irish border and the "divorce bill" or financial settlement, to allow talks to move on to the future of the bilateral trade relationship, as the UK would like.

In her speech on September 22, May offered to continue paying into the EU for a two-year transition after the UK leaves in 2019 to ensure the bloc is not left with a budget black hole.

She sought to reassure member states that they would not lose out financially during the current EU budget period, which runs to 2020.

However, UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis has insisted that May's speech was not influenced by a 4,000-word article by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in the run-up to the event, setting out his own vision for the withdrawal, the BBC reported.

The speech "had been coming for a long time", he said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the UK and Scottish governments are due to hold a fresh round of talks on Brexit in London on Monday.

--IANS

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