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A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 13 OctOber 2017

Divorce bill deadlock: EU laments progress on Brexit

turbing.” progress, trading 0.6 per-
Barnier said he would not cent lower at $1.3142.
be able to recommend to Britain says its exit terms are
EU leaders meeting next closely intertwined with
week that “sufficient prog- those on future relations
ress” has been made to like trade and must be dis-
broaden the talks to dis- cussed together.
cussing future EU-British re- “I hope the member states
lations, including trade. will see the progress we
The leaders meet in Brus- have made and take a
sels on Oct. 19-20, and with step forward” next week,
time short to seal a deal British Brexit envoy David
it had been hoped they Davis told reporters.
would agree to widen the “We would like them to
talks. give Michel the means to
The EU says this can only broaden the negotiations.
happen when there has It’s up to them whether
been progress on the issues they do it. Clearly I think it’s
of the financial settlement, in the interests of the Unit-
the rights of citizens affect- ed Kingdom and the Euro-
ed by Brexit and the status pean Union that they do,”
of the Northern Ireland-Ire- Davis said.Barnier said the
European Union chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, right, speaks with President of the Euro- land border. two would work to achieve
pean Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg, eastern France. Brexit talks have hit a Britain is on track to leave “sufficient progress” in time
deadlock on the key issue of Britain’s exit bill in the divorce, the European Union’s chief negotiator for a subsequent meeting
said Thursday. the 28-nation bloc in
(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) March 2019. Many busi- of EU leaders in December.
nesses are worried that Britain is scheduled to
By LORNE COOK that the slow-moving talks tive spirit ... we haven’t Britain could leave the EU leave the EU on March 29,
JILL LAWLESS won’t be broadened any- made any great steps for- without a trade deal in 2019, but the talks must be
Associated Press time soon to include future ward.” place, which would mean completed within about
BRUSSELS (AP) — Brexit talks trade relations. On the question of how tariffs on exports from both a year to leave time for
have hit a deadlock on the Giving a downbeat assess- much Britain has to pay to sides, reams of red tape EU states’ national parlia-
key issue of Britain’s exit bill ment of the latest round of settle its financial commit- and chaos at European ments to ratify the Brexit
in the divorce, the Europe- negotiations, EU negotiator ments to the bloc, he said: ports. agreement.
an Union’s chief negotia- Michel Barnier said despite “We have reached a state The British pound fell Thurs- European estimates on
tor said Thursday, adding the talks’ recent “construc- of deadlock, which is dis- day on news of the slow the size of the divorce bill
France: Macron launches Step 2 of labor changes have varied from around
60 billion euros to 100 billion
By SYLVIE CORBET Far-left activists staged a vi- dent entrepreneurs, farm- union, Philippe Martinez, euros ($70 billion to $120
billion), but British Prime
Associated Press olent protest Thursday near ers and merchants who go warned “it’s not an option Minister Theresa May’s
PARIS (AP) — French Presi- a human resources confer- bankrupt. Employees who for us to reduce the rights Conservative government
dent Emmanuel Macron ence in Paris’ Bois de Bou- voluntarily quit would also of people without jobs,” has rejected such numbers
is launching Step 2 in his logne forest, where Labor be entitled to unemploy- following his meeting with without clearly explaining
pledged labor market Minister Muriel Penicaud ment benefits under strict Macron. how the amount should
overhaul, focusing on un- was due to speak about conditions, to encourage The CGT union opposes the be calculated.“The U.K. re-
employment benefits and Macron’s economic poli- workers to change jobs first set of labor measures peated that it was still not
job training. cies. more easily. and is organizing a new ready to spell out these
Macron met Thursday with Penicaud cancelled her At the same time, unem- round of strikes and street commitments,” Barnier
France’s main workers’ and speech, invoking a “sched- ployment benefits’ amount protests next week across said. “There have there-
employers’ unions to start ule problem”. and duration could be the country. fore been no negotiations
negotiations that will last for A statement from Paris capped to help finance Macron, elected in May on this subject.”However,
months. police said about 80 peo- the new system. on a pro-business platform, British Foreign Secretary
The discussions come as ple, including 30 wearing The French government says his economic policies Boris Johnson insisted the
workers and unions are still hoods, burned three cars also wants to make chang- aim to boost growth and U.K. had “set out what we
protesting a first set of la- and threw projectiles at po- es to job training programs job hiring and attract more think are some pretty con-
bor measures that Macron lice. It said 41 people were in order to help unem- French and foreign inves- vincing ideas on citizen-
signed last month, aimed detained and that no po- ployed people acquire tors to the country. ship, on money” and on
at making it easier for firms lice officers were hurt. the new skills needed in a The unemployment rate other issues.“We’re looking
to hire and fire and reduc- The French government rapidly changing global in France has been hover- for some urgency from our
ing the power of national wants to extend unemploy- economy. ing around 10 percent for friends and partners,” he
collective bargaining. ment benefits to indepen- The leader of hard-left CGT years.q
told reporters in London. q