Following on from David Frost's comments on......>

EU: Following on from David Frost's comments on EU-UK FTA talks (see 1241BST

bullet), the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier sounds similarly downbeat on

the third round of talks that took place this week.

- Says the positions of the EU and UK are extremely divergent, and that the UK

side refuse to engage in conversation about governance or level-playing field

provisions. 

- Also says the EU is 'looking to the future' with the UK FTA, implying

precedent set by past FTAs with other countries will not necessarily come into

an EU-UK deal. 

- Says that LPF and balanced fisheries are not "nice to have, but a must have"

and that the EU will "not bargain away [its] values for the benefit of the

British economy".

- Judging by Barnier and Frost's harsh comments towards one another's teams, a

significant improvement in relations between the two negotiating teams is going

to be required if any progress is going to be made by the June conference

between EU and UK.