BREXIT: UP-TO-DATE NEWS AS IT HAPPENS

Scotland to Britain: Protect Scotch whisky after Brexit.

LONDON (AP) — Scotland has called for Scotch to be defined in U.K. law so its vital whisky industry can be protected after Brexit. Scottish Economy Secretary Keith Brown has written to officials asking for strong legal protections for the industry, which is worth around 4 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) in exports. A European Union definition of whisky currently protects sales from substandard products — but EU laws will no longer apply to Britain after the country exits the bloc in 2019.

Brown's comments Sunday came after Britain's International Trade Secretary Liam Fox visited the U.S. this week for trade talks. Brown said the U.S. has voiced support for relaxing the definition of whisky, which he said would open the market to products that don't meet the current standard.

I have tasted Bourbon. It's horrible.

UK PM's office says free movement from EU will end in 2019

LONDON (AP) — Free movement to Britain from European Union countries will end when the U.K. leaves the bloc in March 2019, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said Monday. But he acknowledged it's not yet certain what migration arrangements will look like after that.

Spokesman James Slack said that "other elements of the post-Brexit immigration system will be brought forward in due course." "It would be wrong to speculate on what these might look like, or to suggest that free movement will continue as it is now," he said.

May's government is divided on how to implement Brexit, and ministers have been sending mixed signals about the U.K.'s future relationship with the bloc. The government says that Britain will leave the bloc's single market and customs union, and end free movement from EU countries. But officials also say the changes, which have huge economic implications, won't happen overnight.

Last week Treasury chief Philip Hammond said Britain will abide by some EU rules for up to three years post-2019, suggesting some form of continued free movement to help businesses avoid a "cliff edge."

Hammond is one of several ministers who favor a compromise "soft Brexit" to ease the economic shock of leaving the EU. But Trade Secretary Liam Fox, who is strongly pro-Brexit, said the Cabinet has not agreed a position on immigration policy.

"I have not been involved in any discussion on that," Fox told the Sunday Times.

What a mess.

As far as Brexit is concerned, I am reminded of the quote from the late, great Spike Milligan. "We don't have a plan so nothing can go wrong".

My prediction - things in April 2019 will be very much the same as they were in February 2019.

And in April 2020. And in April 2021. And in .....

Yes, sounds about right, Jean-Pierre. Usual muddle, politicians snarl, make noises, backstab each other and the civil service actually runs everything.

Open conflict triggers concern Poland might leave EU next.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Since British voters endorsed leaving the European Union, politicians and pundits have ruminated on which of the bloc's remaining 27 nations could be next. "Grexit" and "Frexit," for Greece and France, were two subjects of speculation.Now, months of open conflict between Poland's conservative nationalist government and the rest of the EU has some Poles wondering if their leaders are putting the country on a path that could take it out of the union.

"There is a question mark over Poland's European future today," European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who is a critic of the ruling Law and Justice party, said Thursday.

The EU is widely popular in Poland, so the idea of the country abandoning the bloc strikes many people here as farfetched. Several surveys have shown public support for the EU standing at over 70 percent, approval stemming from the economic boom and freedom of travel that came with membership in 2004.

But members of the opposition in Poland increasingly are voicing fears that the conflicts between Warsaw and Brussels could eventually lead to a parting of ways. They point to the defiant stance Law and Justice and its leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, adopted when the EU raised concerns about changes to Poland's justice system and the extensive logging the government has ordered in a primeval forest that has been classified as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Government spokesman Rafal Bochenek insisted that Polish leaders intend to keep Poland in the bloc. "Poland is a member of EU and is going to be a leading partner to other member states within the structure," Bochenek told The Associated Press on Friday. "We have got many ambitious projects and challenges to realize in the EU. We will cooperate with our European partners."

Law and Justice has never publicly advocated leaving the bloc, but criticizes what it views as unnecessary EU bureaucracy and infringements on the authority of member countries to make their own decisions.

In that vein, Poland's government aggressively pushed through legislation to put the court system under the ruling party's control. The EU's executive arm has said the moves violate democratic norms by reducing judicial independence.

With Warsaw refusing to give in to the bloc's calls for it to respect the separation of powers, the European Commission is threatening steps that could lead to Poland losing its EU voting rights. The government also has continued logging in the Bialowieza Forest even though the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ordered it last week to stop felling trees immediately. If it continues, Poland could be hit with massive fines.

Katarzyna Lubnauer, a lawmaker with the opposition Modern party, said recently that because Poles are such "Euro-enthusiasts," nobody in the ruling Law and Justice party would admit that leaving the bloc is their aim.

"But when we look at what is happening now, we have a deep sense that this departure is taking place," Lubnauer said. "But it will happen in stages." Tusk made a similar argument Thursday, saying he viewed the "arrogant" refusal to obey the EU court's logging decision as an "attempt to put Poland in conflict with the European Union."

"It seems to me like a prelude to an announcement that Poland does not need the European Union and that Poland is not needed for the EU," he said. "I think such a moment would be one of the most dangerous in our history. I am afraid we are closer than further to that moment."

Bochenek, the government spokesman, called Tusk's statement one of the many "lies" the former prime minister has told about Poland. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker sees the formal steps taken over Poland's judiciary as a way to maintain dialogue with Warsaw and resolve the problems, spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said.

"We are working to keep this union together," Andreeva said.

Law and Justice has never publicly advocated leaving the bloc, but criticizes what it views as unnecessary EU bureaucracy and infringements on the authority of member countries to make their own decisions.

IMO, that sums up perfectly what's gone wrong with the EU.

UK tries to parry claims it's unprepared in Brexit talks.

LONDON (AP) — The British government is fighting back against criticism that it is divided and unprepared for Brexit, announcing it will publish a set of detailed proposals on customs arrangements, the status of the Ireland-Northern Ireland border and other issues.

The Department for Exiting the European Union said Sunday that it would release the first set of position papers this week, more than a year after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the European Union.

The government says it hopes to persuade the 27 other EU nations to start negotiating a "deep and special" future relationship that would include a free trade deal between Britain and the EU. The EU says those negotiations can't start until sufficient progress has been made on three initial issues: how much money the U.K. will have to pay to leave the bloc; whether security checks and customs duties will be instituted on the Irish border; and the status of EU nationals living in Britain.

The exit bill, estimated at tens of billions of euros, is to cover pension liabilities for EU staff and programs Britain committed to funding over the next few years. The government's Brexit department said Britain wants to show that progress on the preliminary issues has been made and "we are ready to broaden out the negotiations" by the time of an EU summit in October.

"Businesses and citizens in the U.K. and EU want to see the talks progress and move towards discussing a deal that works for both sides," the department said in a statement. EU officials have expressed impatience with the pace of Britain's preparations.

The bloc's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said last month there was "a clock ticking" on the talks. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said last week that Brexit advocates "already had 14 months" to issue detailed proposals, but had not.

Barnier is due to meet Britain's Brexit minister, David Davis, for a new round of negotiations at the end of August. Britain voted to leave the EU in June 2016, but did not trigger the formal two-year exit process until March.

Prime Minister Theresa May then called a snap election in an attempt to increase her Conservative Party's majority in Parliament and strengthen her negotiating hand. But voters did not rally to her call, leaving May atop a weakened minority government.

In recent weeks, with May on her summer vacation, members of her Cabinet have openly disagreed about what direction Brexit should take.

UK will not seek to remain in the EU 'by the back door', pledge Fox and Hammond in show of Tory unity.

Senior members of the Government have declared the UK will not seek to remain in the European Union “by the back door” and will leave both the single market and the customs union when Brexit happens in 2019.

Chancellor Philip Hammond, a strong Remain campaigner, and Trade Secretary Liam Fox, a leading Brexiteer, put on a display of unity with a joint pledge that echoes Theresa May’s oft-repeated remark that “Brexit means Brexit”.

Writing in the Brexit-backing Telegraph, the ministers said there would be a “transition period” if the UK leaves the 28-country block as expected in March, 2019, to avoid an economic “cliff edge” which many businesses and economists fear.

But they added the transition period would be just that, and would not be used as an attempt to prolong membership or to delay the inevitable.

The jointly penned article appeared designed to reassure those in favour of a clean break, but will do little to comfort those fearing the consequences of a so-called “hard Brexit”.

“We will leave the customs union and be free to negotiate the best trade deals around the world as an independent, open, trading nation,” the article said.

”We will leave the single market, because there was a vote for change on 23 June and that is what we will deliver.”

It added that businesses should be assured there would be no “cliff edge” despite fears expressed that the UK could crash out of the EU without reaching a deal, which would see UK-EU relations revert to World Trade Organisation rules.

“That is why we believe a time-limited interim period will be important to further our national interest and give business greater certainty – but it cannot be indefinite; it cannot be a back door to staying in the EU," Mr Hammond and Mr Fox wrote.

Mr Hammond had previously ruffled feathers in Brexiteer camp by suggesting he hoped the UK would be able to continue free trade with the EU for as many as four years after leaving.

The old divisions in the Tory party over Europe appeared to resurface when Mr Fox said that any such transition period would end before the next general election in 2022.

With Ms May due to return from her summer holiday, the article appeared designed to end party feuding as well as ongoing speculation that the UK might somehow be able to salvage membership of the single market through negotiations with the EU.

Over the coming 10 days, a number of Government papers will be published spelling out the UK’s Brexit blueprint on key issues including the customs union, the Irish border, fisheries and agriculture.

Free movement for Irish citizens in and out of Britain is expected to continue after Brexit, with the establishment of a Schengen-style area between Ireland and Britain designed to resolve the border problem.

The Government has recently moved to clarify that freedom of movement between the EU and the UK will definitely end in 2019, with the three million EU citizens already in Britain having to apply for inclusion on a “settled status” register if they wish to remain.

In June, the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier called for “more ambition, clarity and guarantees” around the protection of EU citizens living in the UK.

Theresa May 'to insist on Northern Ireland border checks post-Brexit' in move likely to anger the Republic .

Theresa May will put herself on a collision course with Dublin this week by insisting on a post-Brexit trading border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

A crucial “position paper” is expected to stick to Britain’s current plan to use smart technology and spot checks to police the flow of goods between the two countries after 2019.

The stance will anger the Irish Government, which fears the impact on the peace process in the North and has pushed for the Irish Sea to become the post-Brexit border with the UK instead.

Alternatively, said the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, Ms May should abandon her hard Brexit policy of leaving the EU customs union, which will make a border necessary.

In recent weeks, the Taoiseach has made plain his growing frustration with Britain’s failure to come up with workable proposals in the 14 months since last year’s EU referendum.

A failure to reach agreement on the Irish border will also throw into jeopardy the Prime Minister’s hopes of an autumn start to talks on post-Brexit trade with the EU.

Brussels has insisted sufficient progress must be made on Northern Ireland, citizens’ rights and the so-called “divorce bill” before the negotiations can move forward.

Nevertheless, the formal position paper is not expected to give ground and will also play for time by arguing the border issue can only be resolved once the shape of a future trading deal is known.

At least three documents will be published this week, as ministers seek to rebut widespread criticism that Britain’s aims for the negotiations are a muddle.

Another paper will set out how to ensure “continuity in the availability of goods”, addressing the vexed issue of future customs arrangements.

And a third will explore “confidentiality and access to official documents following the UK’s withdrawal”, the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) said.

The publications will show that “intense work is underway to prepare for formal talks on the future, deep and special partnership the UK wants to strike with the EU”, a source at the department argued.

Brexit Secretary David Davis, said: “Over the last year, the Government has been working with British businesses and the British people to establish exactly how our new relationship with the EU should look and feel.

“And over the coming weeks we'll advance that thinking with a swathe of new future partnership papers.

"I've launched this process because with time of the essence, we need to get on with negotiating the bigger issues around our future partnership to ensure we get a deal that delivers a strong UK and a strong EU.”​

The Government will hope the position papers will convince the EU Commission that it does have a coherent plan, when the exit talks resume at the end of this month.

After the last round of negotiations, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, was highly critical of Britain’s lack of preparedness, as he announced there had been no breakthrough.

The Cabinet has been accused of “negotiating with itself”, reflecting stark divisions over whether to pursue a lengthy transition period to avert the economic damage of crashing out of the EU with no agreement.

I reckon Jean-Pierre's right, LL, years down the road, almost nothing will have changed, the can will just get kicked.....

Brexit: UK suggests 'temporary customs union' with EU.

The UK has set out the "ambitious new customs arrangement" it wants to secure with the EU after Brexit.

Ministers said the plans would mean the "freest and most frictionless possible trade" with the rest of Europe.

This could include a "temporary customs union" after Brexit to prevent border problems as the UK leaves the EU.

Businesses have called for clarity since the UK said it was leaving the customs union - the EU's tariff-free trading area - as part of Brexit.

The customs union document is the first of a series of papers to be published by the UK government on key negotiation issues.

On Wednesday it is expected to set out proposals for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

What is the customs union?

Countries in the customs union don't impose tariffs - taxes on imports - on each other's goods.

Every country inside the union levies the same tariffs on imports from abroad.

So, for example, a 10% tariff is imposed on some cars imported from outside the customs union, while 7.5% is imposed on roasted coffee.

Other goods - such as soap or slate - have no tariffs.

The UK's departure from the EU's customs union was confirmed at the weekend in a joint article by Chancellor Philip Hammond and Trade Secretary Liam Fox.

A 'streamlined' border

According to the newly-published government paper, the UK could ask Brussels to establish a "temporary customs union" after it leaves the EU in March 2019.

But during this period, it would also expect to be able to negotiate its own international trade deals - something it cannot do as an EU customs union member.

Once this period expires, the UK will look to agree either a "highly streamlined" border with the EU, or a new "partnership" with no customs border at all.

The government said the interim arrangements would mean businesses would only have to adjust once to the new arrangements.

All of this will have to be negotiated with the EU - and the two sides have not yet even started discussing trade matters.

Other obstacles - including the size of the UK's "divorce bill" - need to be agreed first.

Mixed UK reaction

Keir Starmer, Labour's shadow Brexit secretary, said the proposals were "incoherent and inadequate" and were designed to "gloss over deep and continuing divisions within the cabinet".

"These fantastical and contradictory proposals provide no guidance for negotiators or certainty for businesses," he added.

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said the plan would "only delay the economic pain caused by leaving the customs union".

"We still face the prospect of more red tape for businesses, longer queues at our borders and higher prices for consumers once the transition comes to an end."

However, the CBI, which represents British businesses, said the proposal was "encouraging".

Its deputy director general, Josh Hardie, added: "The clock is ticking and what matters now is giving companies the confidence to continue investing as quickly as possible."

Analysis: UK 'hustles' Brussels

Adam Fleming, BBC Brussels reporter, said the UK was seeking a customs union agreement "that will keep things broadly the same for an interim period - an attempt to reassure business".

"Firms will be told they'll only have to change their processes once," he said.

"In Brussels, EU negotiators are likely to stick to their position that that the future relationship can't be considered until agreement has been reached on their priority issues - the rights of citizens, a financial settlement and the Irish border."

BBC political correspondent Ben Wright said the UK government was "straining to show that it does have a route-map for Brexit".

He said ministers were also attempting to "subtly" put the issue onto the negotiating table sooner than Brussels wants.

"They want to hustle EU negotiators into talking about trade much sooner than Brussels intends," our correspondent said.

Apocalypse deferred.....

Jean-Pierre.t50 wrote:Apocalypse deferred.....

Hi, JP, for how long? LL

We're talking the UK here, LL, this country can fudge and muddle for decades without very much changing.......

Lamplighter wrote:

Jean-Pierre.t50 wrote:Apocalypse deferred.....

Hi, JP, for how long?   LL

It's impossible to tell. But the government have moved from a very hard line "we will be leaving the EU in march 2019" to "we will have a period of transition" and see how it goes.

Once negotiations start to slip like that there is a tendency for more and more compromises, and then it'll end in a muddle.

So I think it'll be a few years of chaos followed by an election with one party having a "remain" manifesto.

Unlike many expats I do have a 'fall back' scenario - just invoke my dual nationality and register as Austrian. That way I stay in the EU, no problems with Hungarian residency. A pity as I always considered the UK connection as a plus, but there we go. Hopefully, I won't have to do anything for some considerable time if at all, considering my age!

LL

I somehow suspect that all 'sides' involved will manage to spend entire YEARS debating minutae about whether roaming charges, for instance, should apply equally to Snapchat and Instagram.....

Of course. That is their function. It gives the poor dears something to do!

UK vows Brexit won't mean the return of Irish border posts.

LONDON (AP) — There must be no border posts between the U.K. and Ireland after Brexit, and European Union citizens will be able to enter Britain through EU member state Ireland without immigration checks, the British government said Wednesday.

Britain has vowed to end the free movement of people from the bloc after it leaves the EU in 2019, removing the automatic right of EU nationals to settle and work in the U.K. But it made clear on Wednesday that EU citizens will still be able to travel freely from Ireland to Northern Ireland, and onward to other parts of the U.K.

Outlining proposals for the Ireland-Northern Ireland border — one of the most complex aspects of Brexit — the government said there should be no physical border posts or electronic checks. It also committed itself to maintaining the border-free Common Travel Area covering the U.K. and Ireland, which predates the establishment of the EU.

"There should be no physical border infrastructure of any kind on either side of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland," Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May said. The right of EU citizens to live in any member state is one of the EU's key principles, and has allowed hundreds of thousands of Europeans to move to Britain and get jobs there, especially since the bloc expanded into eastern Europe more than a decade ago.

There are an estimated 3 million EU nationals living in Britain, and 1 million Britons residing in other parts of the bloc. Many Britons who voted last year to leave the EU cited a desire to regain control of immigration as a key reason.

In a paper outlining proposals for the Irish border after Brexit, the British government insisted it will be able to control immigration through work permits or other measures, even though EU nationals will remain free to come and go.

It said "immigration controls are not, and never have been, solely about the ability to prevent and control entry at the U.K.'s physical border." Control of access to the labor market and social welfare are also "an integral part" of the immigration system, the paper added.

Northern Ireland is an especially thorny issue in Brexit talks, because it has the U.K.'s only land border with the EU, and because an open border has helped build the economic prosperity that underpins the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Since the 1998 Good Friday peace accord, British military checkpoints along the border have been dismantled, rendering it all but invisible. Thousands of people cross the 300-mile (500-kilometer) border every day.

Britain said it was determined that "nothing agreed as part of the U.K.'s exit in any way undermines" the Northern Ireland peace agreement. The government's Department for Exiting the European Union acknowledged that "unprecedented" solutions would be needed to preserve the peace process and maintain the benefits of an open border after Britain leaves the EU, its single market in goods and services and its tariff-free customs union.

It suggested a future "customs partnership" between Britain and the EU could eliminate the need for checks on goods crossing the border. For agricultural and food products, Britain said one option could be "regulatory equivalence," where the U.K. and EU agree to maintain the same standards. But it's unclear what that would mean for Britain's ability to trade with countries that do not always meet EU standards, such as the United States.

The Northern Ireland proposals came in a series of papers covering aspects of Brexit negotiations, which are due to resume in Brussels at the end of this month. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the document "brings some clarity and is certainly helpful to move this process forward." But, he said, "there are still significant questions that are unanswered."

European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said Britain's position papers — which come after allegations from EU officials that the U.K. is underprepared for the EU divorce negotiations — are "a positive step."

"The clock is ticking and this will allow us to make progress," she said.

Brexit row: Britain demands free trade talks start by October despite EU resistance.

The European Union is damaging the chances of a smooth Brexit by refusing to talk about a future free trade deal, British ministers have claimed.

In a warning shot to Brussels, senior Whitehall sources have told this newspaper that the Continent will be to blame for trade disruption unless they agree to widen talks.

Ministers want the EU to sign off discussions about a free trade deal in October even if there is no agreement on how much Britain will pay in the so-called ‘Brexit bill’.

David Davis has gone public with his concerns over timings, indicating the two-step negotiations process demanded by Brussels could backfire.    More at link.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/brexit-row-britain-demands-free-213000852.html
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UK to release tranche of Brexit position papers.

Britain will issue a cluster of new papers this week to outline its strategy positions in divorce talks with the European Union, ranging from regulation of goods to data protection, the UK's Brexit department said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Theresa May's government wants to push discussions with the EU beyond a focus on settling divorce arrangements to its future relationship with the bloc to bring clarity to anxious businesses, citizens and investors.

Last week, Britain issued proposals for a future customs agreement with the EU and a solution for Northern Ireland to avoid a return of border posts with the Republic of Ireland which might inflame tensions.

Britain's Brexit department said on Sunday it would issue two formal position papers this week along with a batch of proposals for discussions on future relations ahead of the next round of negotiations scheduled for later this month.

"In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers - all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship," Britain's Brexit minister David Davis said in a statement.    More at link.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-release-tranche-brexit-position-papers-030705374.html
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Theresa May to publish five new Brexit papers amid fears of trade talks delay.

Theresa May is to unveil five new Brexit negotiating position papers in the coming days amid reports that cabinet ministers privately fear a decision on progressing on to trade talks with the European Union could be delayed until Christmas.

In her first full week back in Downing Street following her three-week holiday, the Prime Minister will release formal papers on key elements of the talks, including the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), data protection, and goods and services after Brexit.

It comes just one week before David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, heads to Brussels for the next formal round of negotiations. But due to a lack of progress made so far and the Government’s failure to publish any formal positions on two key demands from European negotiators – on citizens’ rights and the financial settlement – cabinet ministers are concerned the EU 27 could delay a decision on whether to progress to negotiating a future trade deal by two months.   More at link.
http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/theresa-may-to-publish-five-new-brexit-papers-amid-fears-of-trade-talks-delay/ar-AAqlcr5

This is a long article (I think Forbes is US-based) re Brexit.   Make of it what you will.    LL
Pardon Me, Britain, Your Brexit Schizophrenia Is Showing.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidschrieberg1/2017/08/20/pardon-me-britain-your-brexit-schizophrenia-is-showing/#6af7848d2569
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And another one from Forbes. LL
Hard Brexit Gains UK Economy £135 Billion - More Than Any Other Arrangement
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2017/08/20/hard-brexit-gains-uk-economy-135-billion-more-than-any-other-arrangement/#523b49e32374
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Hong Kong property investors go trophy hunting in London despite Brexit.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hong-kong-property-investors-trophy-060636022.html

Interesting; alas, such high finance is way beyond me!

Britain outlines plans to break free of European Court after Brexit.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will outline its plans on Wednesday to escape the "direct jurisdiction" of the European Court of Justice after Brexit, one of Prime Minister Theresa May's main aims in talks to unravel 40 years of European Union membership.

In one of the most politically sensitive documents Britain has published this month to try to nudge negotiations with the EU forward, the government will show little compromise in what it calls a paper to "reinforce the message that after Brexit, the UK will take back control of its laws".

The European court, or ECJ, is hated by many pro-Brexit lawmakers in May's governing Conservative Party, who say it has slowly sucked power from British courts and parliament. But for the EU, the Luxembourg-based court is the ultimate arbiter of EU law and must protect its citizens, even those living in Britain.

"We have long been clear that in leaving the EU we will bring an ​end to the direct jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the UK," a government source said.

"This paper takes the next steps as we prepare to engage constructively to negotiate our approach to this," the source said, referring to the fourth paper Britain has released this week to try to move the negotiations beyond discussion of a divorce settlement and on to future ties.

It is no surprise that the ECJ has become a major hurdle to an agreement on guaranteeing the rights of expatriates, one of the easier aspects of the Brexit talks which, more than a year since Britain voted to leave the EU, have moved slowly.

A joint status document, published last month, comparing the EU and British positions shows that talks on those rights have come unstuck because of a dispute over the role of the ECJ.

Using a traffic light system to gauge progress in various areas, the role of the ECJ is beyond the red showing disagreement and is referred "for discussion in the governance group".

In the paper on the ECJ, the source said Britain would try to show "examples of existing ways of resolving disputes in international agreements without the CJEU (Court of Justice for the European Union) having direct jurisdiction", and it would be unprecedented if the court had jurisdiction over a non-member.

"The paper will explore a variety of precedents ... to demonstrate that it is normal for the EU to reach agreements with third countries without the CJEU having direct jurisdiction over them."

The "future partnership paper" on judicial and political dispute resolution, which could prompt a stern response from the EU, is part of Britain's strategy to try to force the EU into discussing future ties alongside discussion of the divorce.

But the EU says it must see "sufficient progress" in the first stage in talks - on the rights of expatriates, Britain's border with EU member Ireland and a financial settlement - before moving on.

"We need to talk about the future very soon," another British source said, echoing comments from all sides that the "clock is ticking".