Senior MEP Guy Verhoftsadt arrived in London today to hold crunch talks with David Davis ahead of a crucial vote on Brexit in the European Parliament next week.
Mr Verhoftsadt, the Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, will also meet with Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd in Downing Street today.
His visit comes as Brexit negotiations gear up for a crucial stage as Brussels prepares to publish its negotiating guidelines for the final deal.
The EU is expected to publish its detailed negotiating position tomorrow which will then go to a vote of the European Parliament the week after.
The visit by Mr Verhofstadt – an arch Brexit critic – comes after Mrs May’s bid to unblock Brexit talks and kick start trade negotiations received a setback from a senior Eurocrat.
Senior MEP Guy Verhoftsadt arrived in London today (pictured) to hold crunch talks with David Davis ahead of a crucial vote on Brexit in the European Parliament next week.
The MEP met with Brexit Secretary David Davis in London – the pair will talk about plans for the next stage of negotiations
Mr Verhoftsadt, the Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, tweeted this picture ahead of his meetings in Downing Street today. His visit comes as Brexit negotiations gear up for a crucial stage as Brussels prepares to publish its negotiating guidelines for the final deal
Stefaan De Rynck, an adviser to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier, warned Britain will struggle to get a free trade deal which includes the lucrative financial services sector.
Delivering her Mansion House speech last week the PM offered a ‘pragmatic’ vision of a Britain that trades closely with the EU – but is firmly outside the bloc.
She moved to appease the EU’s complaints about ‘cherry picking’ by conceding that there will have to be compromises over access to the bloc’s markets.
And she set out plans to for Britain and the EU to access each other’s financial markets based on a commitment to maintaining the same ‘regulatory outcomes’.
But Mr De Rynck said the EU has moved away from a system of ‘mutual recognition’ by member states of each others’ rules to more centralised regulation following the 2008 financial crash.
Foreign Secretary (pictured in Downing Street this morning) will also be at today’s Cabinet meeting where Brexit is lilely be on the agenda
Cabinet ministers Andrea Leadsom (pictured left) and Liz Truss (pictured right) arrive at Cabinet today. Theresa May last week made a pitch to unblock Brexit talks by saying that the UK will not slash and burn regulation and wants ‘mutual recognition’ with the EU in many areas
Brexit Secretary David Davis (pictured arriving for Cabinet this morning) will sit down for talks with Mr Verhofstadt today to talk about the Brexit negotiations
Speaking at the London School of Economics last night he said: ‘We have moved away from mutual recognition of national standards to a centralised approach with a single European Union rule book with common enforcement structures.
‘If you are in a very integrated market but you don’t have the joint enforcement structures then you can see the potential for all kinds of difficulties.’
His comments came after Philip Hammond told MPs that a deal which did not include financial services would lack credibility.
The Chancellor warned the EU would find it impossible to replicate the financial ‘eco-system’ of the City of London it was excluded.
‘I don’t think it is credible. I don’t think it reflects the real world in which we live,’ he told the Commons European Scrutiny Committee.
‘(Given) the scale of the UK-based financial services sector and the deep involvement it has in the operation of the real economy in the EU, I don’t think it is in anybody’s interest to sever that link in key areas.’
Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured arriving at Downing Street for Cabinet today) told MPs that a deal which did not include financial services would lack credibility
Home Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured heading to Cabinet this morning) will also hold talks with Mr Verhoftsadt. The fate of the 3.2million EU citizens living in the UK, and Britain’s future immigration system, are both key ares affected by Brexit
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (pictured today, centre) is meting with the DUP’s leaders including Arlene Foster (pictured today left)
Meanwhile, Mr Barnier is holding talks with the DUP leader Arlene Foster in Brussels today.
While Cabinet ministers arrived in Number 10 for their weekly meeting this morning – where Brexit is likely to be on the agenda.
Mrs May is hoping that her keynote speech last week will win over enough support in Brussels for her visions of Brexit.
She moved to appease the EU’s complaints about ‘cherry picking’ by conceding that there will have to be compromises over access to the bloc’s markets.
‘The reality is we all need to face up to some hard facts… In certain ways our access to each other’s markets will be less than now,’ she said.
She added: ‘This is a negotiation. Neither of us can have exactly what we want.’