Brexit trade deal can be done by September, says UK chief negotiator

The UK's chief Brexit negotiator said on Thursday that a free trade agreement with the European Union could be agreed in September, as Ireland's prime minister said a "landing zone" for the deal had emerged.

British and EU officials meet in Brussels for the seventh round of trade talks next week after a fortnight break following five weeks of intensified negotiations.

David Frost said: "Our assessment is that agreement can be reached in September, and we will work to achieve this if we can."

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, has set an end of October deadline for the trade deal to be finalised, which is supported by influential member states such as Germany.

Ireland's Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, met Boris Johnson for talks on Thursday in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland (see video below). He said both sides knew that they needed to avoid the economic shock of a no trade deal Brexit after the coronavirus crisis.

If a trade deal is not agreed by the end of the year, the EU and UK will trade on far less lucrative WTO terms.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," he said. "It seems to me that there is a landing zone if that will is there on both sides, and I think it is."

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister [...] reiterated the UK's determination to reach a deal."

Much still remains to be settled in the negotiations, including the thorny issues of fishing rights and the "level playing field" guarantees, in particular over state aid rules.

Mr Frost said: "The UK's sovereignty, over our laws, our courts, or our fishing waters, is of course not up for discussion, and we will not accept anything which compromises it – just as we aren't looking for anything which threatens the integrity of the EU's Single Market."

The last round of negotiations yielded some progress, with both sides making concessions after months of deadlock.

The UK accepted EU demands that the future relationship be governed by one overarching framework rather than separate deals. The EU has conceded that the UK will not abandon its insistence that the European Court of Justice has no role in future relations.

Mr Barnier and Mr Frost will meet for dinner in Brussels on Tuesday. Negotiations close on Friday, with further meetings possible the following week.

The travelling British team is expected to be about 50 officials. Some others will pitch into negotiations virtually after Belgium was taken off a Government safe list for coronavirus. Negotiators will not have to quarantine for a fortnight after returning to Britain because they are on official Government business.

Both sides are in a race to make the October deadline, which will afford time for the EU to ratify the agreement before the end of the year. The UK leaves the transition period, and the Single Market and Customs Union, on December 31.

At least 2.04 million EU citizens have been granted residency rights beyond the end of freedom of movement rules in Britain at the end of the year after having lived in the UK for at least five years, it was revealed on Thursday.

Of those, 1.475 million were awarded pre-settled status, which protects their residency rights until the applicant reaches the five year threshold.

Just 4,600 people out of 3.8 million applications by July 31 were refused. There were 36,500 withdrawn applications and 34,900 were ruled invalid. About 200,000 applications are pending a decision.

The deadline for applications for the EU Settlement Scheme, which opened in March 2019, is June 30 next year. After that, EU citizens will be treated like immigrants from any other country.

Anyone establishing residence in the UK before the end of the transition period can apply.

The Minister for Future Borders and Immigration, Kevin Foster, said: "EU citizens are an integral part of UK society. We are always looking for reasons to grant status, and refusals are a last resort."