According to David Davis they are the most complicated negotiations “of all time”. So perhaps it was good sense that there wasn’t a single politician left in the room when EU and UK officials sat down to untangle 44 years of joint lawmaking.
The UK has 98 officials in Brussels this week involved in the Brexit negotiations in various capacities. The EU side is a little more modest at 52.
The timetable for the talks is deliberately vague but is split into three negotiating strands.
The first is on citizens’ rights and is being led from the UK by Glyn Williams, a Home Office official responsible for policy in the UK’s border, immigration and citizenship system. The second negotiating group is all about money and the Brexit bill the UK is liable for. The talks are being led by Mr Barnier’s principal adviser, Stéphanie Riso, and Philippe Bertrand, a budget official.
On the UK side is Mark Bowman, a senior Treasury official. Simon Case, formerly Theresa May’s principal private secretary, will also play a role in this group alongside other aspects of the negotiations.
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The final group will tackle “other separation issues” such as nuclear energy and the jurisdiction of EU courts. Negotiators are also set to touch on how to extricate the UK from EU tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules.
Insiders say not to expect too much progress on Thursday but enough to show momentum before October’s deadline for the “sufficient progress” to be made to start talking about Britain’s future relationship with the EU.