Britain 'confident' of new phase in Brexit talks by October

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Prime Minister Theresa May's government wants to push the discussion beyond the divorce settlement soon, to offer companies some assurance of what to expect after Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. She said that despite a lot left to do, she was confident of securing "a deep and special relationship".

FILE PHOTO: A worker arranges flags at the EU headquarters as Britain and the EU launch Brexit talks in Brussels, June 19, 2017.

But the bloc has repeated that until there is "sufficient progress" in the first stage of talks on the rights of expatriates, Britain's border with EU member Ireland and a financial settlement, officials cannot consider future ties.

Last month, the EU's top Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said talks on future relations had become less likely to start in October because of a lack of progress on the "divorce". nL5N1KI4UC]

"Government officials are working at pace and we are confident we will have made sufficient progress by October to advance the talks to the next phase," a spokeswoman for Britain's Department for Exiting the European Union said in a statement on Thursday.

"As the Secretary of State (Brexit minister David Davis) has said, it is important that both sides demonstrate a dynamic and flexible approach to each round of the negotiations."

May said the government had shown the work it was putting into the talks with this week's release of papers, including those with proposals for a future customs arrangement and for the border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

"It's good that we've had a constructive, positive approach to the negotiations so far, and those negotiations are continuing ... There's a lot to be done," she told local television.

"We will develop a deep and special partnership with the European Union for the future that's good for the UK and good for the EU as well."

The difference in tone was underlined when a spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU's executive, said simply that the two sides had agreed the talks' structure: "The next round will be in the week of 28 August."

On Wednesday, unidentified sources were quoted by Britain's Sky News as saying the two sides might have to delay talks on their post-Brexit relationship until December because they would not make the progress required by the EU.