UK-EU FTA Talks On Better Footing Going Into Official Negotiations Next Week

The EU's chief negotiator with the UK Michel Barnier has concluded the latest unofficial round of FTA talks with the UK's chief negotiator Lord Frost, and reports emerging suggest the mood music surrounding the talks has improved markedly in recent days.

• Politico reports an EU source stating that, "It seems like the tide is turning," while James Forsyth in The Times reports a UK source stating "There's no doubt that the tone has improved but we really need to begin the intensive talks to resolve the final tricky issues. We're keen to begin now, but at the moment the EU keeps blocking these talks and demanding more process. The real risk now isn't that the talks fail over substance, it's that they will be timed out."
• One major area of contention was the potential for the UK not to gain 'third country listing' that would enable food exports to the EU, but Michel Barnier has told the UK there will be 'no problem' in gaining this status.
• Nevertheless, the UK Internal Market bill remains a major bone of contention for the EU, which has set a deadline for the end of September for the gov't (or parliament) to amend the bill to Brussels' satisfaction insofar as it avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland.