EU 'keen' to see how UK will 'translate' May's speech

The EU's chief negotiator has said he was "keen and eager" to see how Theresa May's Florence speech last week would be turned into a negotiating strategy.

Michel Barnier was speaking as the fourth round of talks resumed in Brussels.

"The European Union is keen and eager to understand better how the UK Government will translate the Prime Minister's speech into negotiating positions," he said.

"This is essential and would enable us to advance this week, I hope, and making real progress of the coming months."

At the same news conference, Brexit Secretary David Davis said the UK was laying out "concrete proposals" and that there were "no excuses for standing in the way of progress".

It is the negotiators' first joint appearance since the Prime Minister's speech in Florence on Friday.

She announced a post-2019 "implementation period" in which Britain would continue paying into EU coffers and participate in the single market.

Mr Davis confirmed that the UK planned to pay the EU around £10bn each year during the transition.

But Mr Barnier implied a transition phase was not guaranteed, adding that Britain must defer to European courts during any transition period and that the EU "was not asking for it".

"If the idea is that during this period they will still participate in the single market and the customs union and the policies of the single market then it is quite clear that all European regulations, enforcement, financial conditions, supervision, all of that has to be maintained during the self-same period without any exceptions," he said.

Mr Davis said the latest citizen's rights would be incorporated fully into UK law, progress had been made on resolving the Irish border question, and insisted that the UK would honour the commitments it made while in the EU.

"But it's obvious that reaching a conclusion on this issue can only be done in the context of and in accordance with our new deep and special partnership with the EU," he said.

"The UK is absolutely committed to work through the detail. We are laying out concrete proposals and there are no excuses for standing in the way of progress.

"It will take pragmatism on both sides to make headway and I hope we can achieve that this week."