UK Brexit negotiator meets EU counterpart in bid to revive talks

The government's lead Brexit negotiator David Frost will host a Michel Barnier, his EU counterpart for a private dinner in Downing Street on Tuesday night in a bid to revive talks on a trade and security deal.

Less than six months before the status quo transition period ended, both sides expressed concern over the lack of progress in the talks.

Barnier and his team of officers arrived in London on Tuesday and posed for photos wearing masks. Informal talks between about 15 officials from both sides will take place in Whitehall on Wednesday.

The meeting follows the abrupt end to the first round of "accelerated" face-to-face talks last week, after which Barnier complained about a lack of respect and involvement from the British government .

Asked what would be on the agenda, Boris Johnson's official spokesman said: "These are informal talks so there is no published agenda but you are fully aware of the range of issues we need to reach agreement on with the EU. Discussions will cover everything from what the EU calls a level playing field to governance structures. ”

Downing Street said Frost and Barnier would eat halibut – perhaps surprising given that fish is one of the most contentious issues between the two sides.

In a transcript of an interview with Barnier by a committee of Lords published on Tuesday, the EU negotiator accused the UK of continuing to seek "the advantages of being a member state", but with the right to dissent on regulations.

He also warned that no deal would spell a barrier for British exporters from Jan 1, as the EU had no intention of gradually easing border controls like the UK.

“Let's not delay things. As of January 1st, all products entering the single market – coming from any third country anywhere in the world, including yours because you are a third country – will be checked,” he said.

Meanwhile, MPs have heard that EU nationals based in the UK are being used by the Home Office as guinea pigs for a future digital immigration system.

They will also face "significant problems" after Brexit unless the government provides them with a physical card to prove their right to legally remain in the UK, the UK parliament's committee has said. Brexit .

A lawyer for the 3 million-strong campaign group said some feared risking ending up like the Windrush generation struggling to demonstrate their rights with landlords and employers.

“There is a lot of distrust in the way the government does things, especially in the Home Office, and that has happened … because of a legacy of mistakes and because some very, very bad things have happened to human beings. And I think a lot of EU citizens are very worried about this happening to them,” he said.

EU citizens' rights were already enshrined in the withdrawal deal signed in January, but the Brexit selection committee heard that anxiety over their future rights remained high.

“Words like angry, anxious, alienated, annoyed, unwanted, upset and unwanted” were the sentiments cited in a survey of 3,000 EU citizens, which also found that 89% said they wanted a physical card.

Concerns have also been raised about EU citizens being wrongfully given pre-established status.

1.3 million of the 3.3 million people who went through the settlement process were given pre-established status, with concerns raised several times in the last year that some people were accepting lower status without realizing they were entitled to full status. .

Piper spoke of the serious consequences for those who don't reapply or the vulnerable, such as children undergoing treatment or people with dementia who, for whatever reason, miss the June 30, 2021 deadline.

Without the status they would become illegal residents and lose their right to work and access to the NHS and housing until they acquire legal status.

Coram, the children's charity, published recently a report on children and established status. He found that local authorities had granted status to only 500 of the estimated 9,000 children and youth in the care system.