The EU Commission on Friday said “sufficient progress” had been made on Brexit negotiations, hinting that talks will move on to the second phase.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Today I am hopeful that we are now all moving towards the second phase of these challenging negotiations.”
In a written statement, the commission said: “The European Commission has today recommended to the European Council (Article 50) to conclude that sufficient progress has been made in the first phase of the Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom.”
“It is now for the European Council (Article 50) on 15 December 2017 to decide if sufficient progress has been made, allowing the negotiations to proceed to their second phase,” the statement added.
“I very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the next phase of the Brexit talks on trade and security,” U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Twitter.
The meeting in Brussels came after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Thursday gave a 48-hour deadline to move on Brexit talks.
Barnier told EU member states if Britain did not reach an agreement on a text on a potential deal in the next two days, negotiators will not be moving to further stages where the future relations between the U.K. and EU will be shaped.