Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 29 augusT 2017
Britain looking to push Brexit talks with EU onto trade

By RAF CASERT divorce and future trade
JILL LAWLESS relations simultaneously.
Associated Press The EU has insisted that key
BRUSSELS (AP) — The Eu- issues of the withdrawal
ropean Union and Britain must be dealt with before
started a third round of any post-Brexit discussions
Brexit negotiations on Mon- can begin. Britain is hoping
day with EU negotiator Mi- those discussions can start
chel Barnier testily berat- as soon as October.
ing the British government “The week ahead is about
for what he perceives as driving forward the techni-
a lack of focus and insuf- cal discussions across all
ficient progress during the the issues — all the issues,”
five months since it trig- Davis said, turning to Bar-
gered divorce proceed- nier to underline his point.
ings. The negotiators then disap-
Refusing to bow to British peared into EU headquar-
requests to begin discuss- ters to discuss the issues
ing a future relationship that Barnier insists must
while it remains unclear take precedence.
how the two sides can split They range from the rights
on good terms, Barnier in- of European citizens living
sisted that the government outside their native coun-
of Prime Minister Theresa European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, right, and British Secretary of State David tries to the status of the
May must shake off its dip- Davis deliver a statement for the media prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels on Mon- Ireland-Northern Ireland
lomatic sloth. day, Aug. 28, 2017. The EU and Britain start a third round of Brexit negotiations on Monday. border and the outstand-
“To be honest, I am con- (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) ing costs owed by Britain to
cerned,” Barnier said dur- the EU budget.
ing a brief welcome ap- Both sides are facing a of next year to allow for sooner we remove the am- Tuesday will mark five
pearance with British coun- March 2019 deadline to formal ratification by both biguity, the sooner we will months since May initiated
terpart David Davis. seal a deal to disentangle sides. be in a position to discuss the two-year divorce pro-
“Time passes quickly,” he Britain from the EU and to “We must start negotiating the future relationship and cess and discussions since
said, adding he was “ready broker the terms of their seriously,” Barnier said. “We a transitional period.” then, interrupted by a Brit-
to intensify” the high-level post-split relationship. The need U.K. papers that are Davis and Britain have ish general election as well
negotiations that now con- bulk of the negotiations clear in order to have con- been trying to nudge the as the summer, have yield-
sist of one four-day session need to wrap up in the fall structive negotiations. The EU toward discussing their ed little progress. q
a month.

Putin visits Hungary for judo

competition and energy talks

By PABLO GORONDI Peter Szijjarto said the ex-
Associated Press pansion of the power plant
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — in Paks, in central Hungary,
Russian President Vladimir would begin next year, af-
Putin was in Hungary for ter what he said had been
the second time this year a 22-month delay while the
on Monday, attending the European Union examined
World Judo Championships the project’s compliance
in Budapest and discuss- with EU rules.
ing mutual energy interests “The procedures regarding
with his Hungarian counter- the European Union have
part. taken longer than expect-
Putin, who made an official ed and they have taken
trip to Hungary in February, longer than they should
sat in a VIP box at the Laszlo have,” Szijjarto said after
Papp Budapest Sports Are- dining with Orban and the
na with Hungarian Prime Russian delegation. “The
Minister Viktor Orban and real construction work will
other officials. start in January and noth-
Discussions between the ing will stop the investment
two leaders centered on from now on.”
energy issues, including Szijjarto also said that Bul-
Russia’s construction of garia, Serbia and Hungary
new reactors for Hungary’s would upgrade parts of
Soviet-built nuclear power their natural gas pipelines
plant and Hungarian im- to allow the transport of up
ports of natural gas from to 10 billion cubic meters of
Russia. Russian gas to the region
Hungarian Foreign Minister by the end of 2019.q