After the third round of formal Brexit talks, the S&D Group president, Gianni Pittella, stated:

“The lack of decisive progress on any of the principal subjects in the third round of negotiations doesn't come as a surprise. Beyond the goodwill expressed on paper, the UK Government is far from being open and keen to have a serious discussion on the crucial points linked to the British withdrawal from the EU: citizens' rights, financial settlement and the Irish border.

“How could we approach the discussion about our future relations if the UK is still reluctant to open dialogue about its financial commitments? The Tories bear total responsibility for the current stalemate which risks badly affecting citizens and business.

“We urge the UK authorities to rise above political game playing and show concrete willingness to reach a fair agreement.

“For the S&D Group the citizens' rights is an absolute priority and the Parliament has a clear and united view on this. Should the Conference of Presidents decide to have a resolution, we are confident it will be supported by a large majority”.

S&D Member of the European Parliament Brexit Steering Group, Roberto Gualtieri MEP added:

“Time is running and the UK government's attitude has resulted in the lack of sufficient progress. This progress is necessary to move to the second phase of the negotiations on the framework for the future EU-UK relationship”.