Negotiations on the UK’s future relationship with the EU

The Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, has issued a written statement giving a progress report on negotiations with the EU. The first round of negotiations on the future relationship took place in Brussels between 2 and 5 March.

The substantive discussions took place within the eleven separate negotiating groups agreed between the parties and set out in the terms of reference. These groups are:

• trade in goods;
• trade in services and investment and other issues;
• level playing field for open and fair competition;
• transport;
• energy and civil nuclear cooperation;
• fisheries;
• mobility and social security coordination;
• law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters;
• thematic cooperation;
• participation in union programmes; and
• horizontal arrangements and governance.

Both sides presented their positions as set out in the EU mandate and in the document The future relationship with the EU: the UK’s approach to negotiations.

The statement said that, in some areas, the discussions identified ‘a degree of common understanding of the ground that future talks could cover’. In other areas, notably fisheries, governance and dispute settlement, and the ‘level playing field’, there were, as expected, significant differences.

The next negotiating round will take place in London between 18 and 20 March. The UK expects to table a number of legal texts beforehand, including a draft free trade agreement.