European Union's Michel Barnier says it may take months for Brexit talks to move on

BRUSSELS: European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said it could take months before the divorce talks can move on to trade, in a blow to Theresa May’s hopes for faster progress.

The fourth round of talks, while more positive in tone, failed to deliver the breakthrough that’s needed for negotiations to start on the trade deal that the UK desperately wants. Barnier said UK still hasn’t set out what it thinks the country owes the bloc when it leaves and there’s still no agreement on the role of the European Court of Justice — one of the most contentious issues for both sides.

"It’s positive that Theresa May’s speech made it possible to unblock the situation to some extent and give a new dynamic,” Barnier told a news conference with Brexit Secretary David Davis in Brussels on Thursday. "But we are far from the stage, and it will take weeks or maybe even months, where we will be able to say yes there has been sufficient progress on the principles for the orderly withdrawal."

His comments all but dashed any remaining hope that May’s speech in Florence last week would encourage EU leaders at their October summit to agree that "sufficient progress” has been made on the divorce issues for discussions to turn to trade. Still, the pound strengthened as investors focused on Barnier’s positive comments about the new dynamic. In Florence, May said UK would honour its financial commitments and pay into the EU budget for two years after leaving. She also asked for a two-year transition, during which the current trading conditions and rules would apply, in an apparent effort to tie the divorce bill to the transition.