A European Council Summit was held on 19-20 October 2017. A number of topics were discussed and, as expected, there was an agreement by the EU27 that talks on Brexit could NOT proceed to discuss a future trading relationship between the UK and the EU.
The EU27 called for more progress regarding citizens’ rights, the Irish border, and financial obligations before starting their second phase of the Brexit talks, however, they also agreed to start discussions, amongst themselves, in preparation for the next phase of negotiations.
The following related document was published
European Council (Art. 50) conclusions, 20/10/2017 (pdf)
On Brexit, Donald Tusk said in a press statement:
The negotiations go on, and we will continue to approach them positively and constructively. And as we are all working actively on a deal, I hope we will be able to move to the second phase of our talks in December
Discussion were also held on matters regarding migration, digital Europe, defence, and external relations, and a number of conclusions were adopted.
Full details are available at
European Council Meeting, 19-20/10/2017
and the conclusions are available in a document at
European Council meeting (19 October 2017) – Conclusions (pdf)
The statement isseued by Donald Tusk is available at
