The first round of Brexit negotiations in Brussels started on Monday the 19th of June. The negotiations between the United Kingdom, represented by David Davis and the EU, represented by Michel Barnier, will take place in Brussels in a series of meetings. This round concerns the detailed timeline of the negotiations, the meeting of the representatives and the first talks on the issues which are vital for the EU to address before moving onto negotiations about a future trade deal.

The vital issues concerned are first the citizens’ rights of EU citizens and the United Kingdom and vice versa. Second, a financial ‘divorce bill’ which is set to be about 50 billion euros and third, the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which is 'soft' at the moment but can turn into a ‘hard’ border if no agreement is reached. So far, the EU 27, the member states minus the United Kingdom, have shown to be acting in a unitary front, despite internal differences on the importance of trade with the United Kingdom and bilateral relations.

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