European Parliament
Strasbourg

On behalf of the Estonian EU presidency, Estonia's deputy minister for EU affairs Matti Maasikas says EU leaders will assess the state of talks later this month.

He notes that there is a "certain new momentum" to the talks but that more "clarity" is needed in certain areas.

He adds that transitional measures could provide welcome certainty to businesses, but that any transitional deal must be accompanied by "clear conditions".

European Parliament
Strasbourg

European Commission Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says that Theresa May's speech "gave us some openings", and negations have been able to "move forward" on the issue of citizens' rights.

However, he says there are "still serious divergences", especially on a financial settlement.

The remaining 27 EU states will "never accept" having to pay for a decision made by British voters, he adds - and accuses the UK of "certain discriminatory measures" against EU citizens.

"Sufficient progress" on the early withdrawal issues has not been achieved, he says, but pledges that the Commission will be "constructive" in fifth round talks beginning next week.

European Parliament
Strasbourg

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says Theresa May's speech in Florence "struck an optimistic tone" and was "conciliatory".

However, he says that sufficient progress on priority issues has not yet been made, and that "speeches are not negotiating positions".

He notes that guaranteeing a role for the EU's Court of Justice - which he calls "indispensable" - still needs to be agreed.

In remarks for "those in the UK who think they should go over Michel Barnier's head", he notes that the Commission's Brexit chief is operating under "clear" guidelines given by EU leaders.

Image source, AFP

The motion repeats many of the main elements of the red lines MEPs set out back in April.

In particular, the draft resolution says:

• the EU’s top court must retain “full jurisdiction” during any transitional period
• there should be “no material change” to the current rights of EU or UK citizens
• the UK and EU must not be able to “unilaterally” change citizens’ rights in the final deal
• avoiding a hard Irish border will involve either Northern Ireland or the entire UK remaining part of the customs union and internal market
• the UK should pay for its share of future EU liabilities and the cost of its withdrawal
• the UK has "seriously impeded" talks over money through a lack of "clear proposals"

It also accuses the UK of using “administrative practices” against EU citizens – without spelling out explicitly what these are.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and welcome to coverage of this plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

First up this morning EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will join MEPs to debate the current state of Brexit talks.

Later MEPs will vote on a draft motion calling on EU leaders not to open the next phase of Brexit talks on a future trading relationship with the UK, barring a “major breakthrough” in talks.

The text says that “sufficient progress” has not yet been made on the priority areas identified by the EU: guarantees on citizen's rights, a financial settlement and the Irish border.

National leaders are due to decide whether to start trade talks when they meet later this month. The MEPs’ motion is not legally binding.

The European Parliament is not participating directly in the Brexit talks but must ratify any final deal before it can come into effect.