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, according
to Anadolu.
"I very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the
next phase of the Brexit talks on trade and security,” UK 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 UK and
EU will be shaped.
