Thread by @JenniferMerode

Brexit is back. EU and UK expected to resume post-Brexit talks next week in first-ever video negotiations. Michel Barnier and David Frost set to agree timetable in phone call Wed. Two other video-link rounds pencilled in for May.
1.
theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2…

Michel Barnier has fully recovered from coronavirus. David Frost is now out of self-isolation, having gone into quarantine with mild symptoms last month. Even when two leads were homebound, talks went on over phone - mostly clarifying legal texts.
2.

The UK last Friday sent two legal texts to Barnier’s team - one on energy, one on law enforcement, adding to the previous draft FTA and aviation agreement. But nothing on fisheries. Nor foreign policy, where gov doesn't seek overarching deal with EU.
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EU diplomats grumpy that UK is denying Barnier permission to share the UK legal texts. That means 27 member states, who will ultimately decide final deal, so far relying on commission reports and analysis. The UK not producing any text on fisheries is seen as a bad sign.
4.

Last week scores of EU and UK officials took part in multiple, overlapping conference calls, on the eleven different strands of negotiations, where they clarified points on legal texts. It was as difficult as you'd expect when +/- 40 people are on one conference call.
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Video talks cd be seen as UK win. Gov has always been more bullish about this option, while commission sounded sceptical. But will negotiations work ? Open question. Talks little advanced - only one round and two sides haven’t had much chance to get to know each other.

6.

And the elephant in the room?

During hours of recent calls, the extension Q never came up. UK civil servants continue to insist on sticking to end 2020 deadline. EU diplos increasingly sceptical about this. But EPP request on this seen as having misfired.

7.

If there is to extension deal by 1 July deadline, that’s not something to be switched on at 11pm on 30 June. Needs agreement on on future UK contributions to EU budget after 2020. I’d imagine those calculations already exist in a few desk drawers...
8.

Meanwhile on substance all the big sticking points remain the same: level playing field, fisheries and nature of the agreement (one big deal with one legal underpinning v lots of mini deals with governance hodge podge).
9.

European parliament optimistic there has been convergence on energy, nuclear and transport, but other sources stress lots of issues to solve inc on less headline-grabbing issues.

More tomorrow. And then some more again. And again.
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