BRUSSELS, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A member of the European Parliament (MEP) on Friday called for rapid progress in the negotiations over the future relationship between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom after the seventh round of talks met little convergence.
"Another month has passed without any meaningful progress," David McAllister, Chair of the European Parliament's EU-UK Coordination Group, said in a statement, following a briefing by the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier in the European Parliament.
"Losing precious time now in the hope of getting a better deal in a last-minute poker game is not helpful, and potentially very detrimental for both sides," said McAllister.
The German parliamentarian reminded that the European Parliament needs time to scrutinize the agreement, if one is reached, before giving its consent, and thus October would be the deadline for the two sides to submit the document.
He reiterated the determination to preserve EU standards and achievements in areas including environmental standards, "for the sake and well-being of EU citizens."
Barnier said on Friday the two sides remained far apart on issues including level playing field, fisheries, governance and law enforcement, although progress was made on technical issues like energy cooperation and anti-money laundering.
"Those who were hoping for negotiations to move swiftly forward this week will have been disappointed," Barnier told a press conference in Brussels.
He blamed the British negotiators for having not shown "any real willingness to move forward on issues of fundamental importance for the European Union."
However, British government's chief negotiator David Frost said Friday that the EU stance made it unnecessarily difficult to make progress. There is a lot of detail to work through, he said, adding: "Time is short for both sides." Enditem
