#Brexit round five: ‘Parking the car without scratching the paintwork’

The fifth round of Brexit negotiations (Article 50) has been completed. The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, said that there is a "new dynamic" following Theresa May’s speech in Florence. The EU-27’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier was more circumspect, talking of a ‘deadlock’ adding – to the surprise of no one – that he would not be able to report sufficient progress to next week’s European Council, writes Catherine Feore.

As one senior diplomatic source put it, this week was never going to be pivotal in the process, more a question of "parking the car without scratching the paint or bumping the tyres".

Citizens: Who decides?

On citizens' rights, little progress was made. This is the EU-27’s priority, given the uncertainty and distress it causes to those who have exercised their rights to freedom of movement within the EU – and indeed, freedom to establish a business – in another EU state.

Disagreement remains on the export of social security rights after Brexit and on family reunification. Barnier gave the example of transfer of disability payments and a family that might want to invite their elderly parents to live with them in the next 10-15 years.

The main bone of contention is how these rights are protected. David Davis said that the UK’s "legal order would remain distinct and different" and that they are trying to find "creative" solutions to ensure a consistent interpretation with EU law.

Barnier said that the withdrawal agreement must have direct effect and that the interpretation of the rights should be consistent between both jurisdictions. Barnier maintains that this can only be done through the European Court of Justice.

Northern Ireland: UK will recognize the unique and special situation

On Northern Ireland, Barnier said the parties had made progress on the Common Travel Area, and that there is intensive work on North/South co-operation – with a detailed mapping of areas of co-operation developed under the Good Friday Agreement, from inland fishing to food safety. Barnier said that there was still more work to do.

Davis acknowledged that creative solutions were needed for the unique and special circumstances on the island of Ireland. Davis has acknowledged the complexity of the situation and said that if the peace process should be damaged in any sense, this would be regarded as a development. Importantly, in respecting the guidelines, it means they have to find a solution that won’t result in a 'hard border'.

It is anticipated that it may be easier to make progress if the devolved, executive government is in place. It is hoped that this could be agreed before the end of the week.

Financial settlement: Deadlock!

Both parties were blunt in their assessment of developments on the financial settlement. Barnier said that though some technical discussions on the financial settlement continued, the discussions had reached a state of deadlock. Barnier said that Theresa May in her Florence speech explained that she would honour financial commitments that the UK had entered into. However, the UK has not been willing to spell out the commitments. Davis made it clear that he would not agree specific commitments until later. The impasse is likely to stall the necessary agreement from the EU-27 to move on to the second phase of negotiations.

What next?

There is some degree of optimism - the same senior diplomat who said the car was parked, said that it should be refuelled and ready to go after the European Council. This was a strong hint that there could be some progress on some move to discussing a future relationship.

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