No ‘decisive progress’ in third round of Brexit talks, top EU negotiator says

Jasper Juinen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Michel Barnier during a news conference after a meeting of EU finance ministers at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator has lamented a lack of developments in the third round of Brexit negotiations, saying that no “decisive progress” has been made on any principal subjects.

Michel Barnier said Thursday that the three-day talks in Brussels with his British counterpart David Davis, and their respective delegations, had secured “useful clarification on a number of points,” but insisted that both sides remain far from agreeing a final deal ahead of the U.K.’s departure from the EU.

“We did not get any decisive progress on any of the principal subjects,” Barnier told reporters, referring to the key issues citizens’ rights and the U.K.’s Brexit bill.

He admitted, however, that talks on the Irish border – the third issue of contention in early stage discussions – had been “fruitful.”