Britain, EU to wrap up third round of trade negotiations

The European Union and Britain are to finish a third round of negotations on a post-Brexit trade deal on Friday after a week of video conferences.

The last two rounds yielded little progress, with Brussels’ lead negotiator Michel Barnier accusing London of refusing to seriously engage with the discussions.

Britain left the EU at the end of January. However, a transition period remains in place until the end of the year, meaning very little has yet changed in terms of Britons’ everyday lives.

Britain is still part of the EU internal market and customs union, adheres to EU rules and pays into the budget.

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If no agreement for future relations is made within the transition period, there will be a hard split, resulting in economic turbulence.

The final round of negotiations is set for June. The end of that month is also the deadline for Britain to request an extension of the transition period, something the British government insists is not on the table. (dpa)