David Davis hasn't visited Brussels for Brexit talks yet this year

European Council summit where both sides hope to strike deal on transition period is next week

David Davis is yet to personally visit Brussels for Brexit talks this year, in an apparent change of approach by the British government to the EU withdrawal negotiations.

A schedule for negotiations this week published by the European Commission shows discussions will be limited to technical and coordinating meetings between officials, and that the Brexit Secretary would again not be travelling out to meet Michel Barnier during the round.

The absence has raised eyebrows because Mr Davis regularly travelled to Brussels during the early rounds of talks last year. With the first quarter of 2018 soon drawing to a close the minister’s only meeting with the EU’s chief negotiator so far has been in London at the start of February, despite the meat of the discussions taking place at the EU’s Belgium headquarters.

A source close to Mr Davis said the minister had spoken to Mr Barnier on the phone this year and expected to meet him before the European Council summit at the end of next week, where the two sides are hoping to strike a deal on the transition period and set the terms of discussions for the future trade relationship.

There were reports last December that Mr Davis had been sidelined on the British side of talks in favour of Oliver Robbins, the head of the Downing Street Brexit unit, and that Mr Robbins had taken to meeting with EU negotiators directly. The Department for Exiting the European Union has denied these claims as “wholly inaccurate”.

European Council president Donald Tusk said last week that talks would from now on be “Ireland first” and that “as long as the UK doesn’t present such a solution [to the border issue], it is very difficult to imagine substantive progress in Brexit negotiations”.

He added: “If in London someone assumes that the negotiations will deal with other issues first before the Irish issue, my response would be: Ireland first.”

UK government officials deny the ultimatum amounts to talks being frozen at the issue until it can be resolved, but the schedule for this week’s discussions show that they will almost exclusively focus on the same “separation” issues that were the subject of the December agreement, including the Irish border.

On Tuesday officials will seek “clarification” from one-another on the issue of the financial settlement, following reports by The Independent that the longer transition period mooted by the UK could see the so-called “divorce bill” rise by billions.

On Wednesday the issue of citizens’ rights will be addressed once more, amid a dispute between the two sides about whether EU citizens who come to Britain during the transition period will have the same free movement rights as others.

Northern Ireland will also be discussed, while other talks, pointedly marked as “separation issues” – rather than trade or transition – have been scheduled for Thursday.

Only for a period on Wednesday will officials specifically devote time to discussing the transition period, the schedule says – despite the aim of striking an agreement on the transition by the end of next week.

Lib Dem MP and Best for Britain campaign supporter Tom Brake said: “Another chapter of how to win friends and influence people is being written by David Davis with his notable failure to meet Mr Barnier in Brussels so far this year.

“Hiding behind the Channel won’t resolve self-inflicted critical conundrums like the Northern Ireland border. Mr Davis needs to meet his EU counterpart if there is going to be any chance of resolving this divorce amicably.”