EU chiefs scupper Theresa May's hopes of trade talks in October

Conservative ministers still hope discussions on a future trade deal may at least begin by Christmas

Jean Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier in the European Parliament (AFP/Getty Images)

EU chiefs made a show on Tuesday of telling Theresa May that the UK has still not done enough to be allowed to discuss a future trade with the European Union.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said British negotiators must more ground in agreeing the terms of withdrawal, in a move likely to anger Conservative Brexiteers.

He was flanked by the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and the European Parliament’s Brexit lead Guy Verhofstadt who both demanded more clarity for the UK.

It comes after Ms May’s Brexit speech in Florence, which all three men said had improved negotiations and allowed some progress, and ahead of her keynote speech to Conservative conference on Wednesday.

But they signaled it is unlikely that the EU will allow talks to move on to future trade in October without further concessions on guaranteeing EU citizens’ rights, settling the divorce bill and the Irish border - with the role of the European Court a key sticking point.

Mr Juncker said: “When it comes to Brexit we still cannot talk about the future without any real clarity. We first need to agree on the terms of the divorce and then we see if we can lovingly find each other.

“The Prime Minister's speech in Florence was conciliatory but speeches are not negotiating positions. Work still needs to be done. We have not yet made the sufficient progress needed.”

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr Juncker welcomed the “conciliatory” tone of Ms May's Florence speech, in which she said no EU member state would lose out financially as result of Britain's decision to leave.

He also welcomed Ms May's recognition that the UK had to honour its financial obligations, but added: “The devil will, as always, be in the detail.

“The taxpayers of the EU27 should not pay for the British decision.”

However, he underlined the view of Mr Barnier that more progress was needed.

Mr Barnier said Ms May had given the EU “some openings” in her Florence speech but called for a reflection of these in “specific proposals”.

“To assess the state of the play objectively, there are still serious divergences, especially on the financial settlement,” he warned.

The Commission's chief negotiator suggested Ms May's offer to fulfil Britain's EU budget commitments up to 2020 did not go far enough.

He was applauded by MEPs as he said: “We will never accept for the 27 to pay what was decided on by 28, it's as simple as that.

“The taxpayers of the 27 don't have to pay for the consequences of the decision that they didn't take.

“So, no more, no less.”

Ms May has offered to maintain payments into EU coffers but only up to 2018/19, with the EU arguing that some commitments already agreed with the UK will mean the country must continue paying after that date.

Mr Barnier also said Ms May's offer to write EU citizens' rights into UK law did not go far enough, stressing that the European Court of Justice must oversee them.

"We need a consistent interpretation of the agreement on both sides of the Channel that only the ECJ can guarantee," he said.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's co-ordinator on Brexit, said the negotiations were being hampered by divisions among senior British ministers.

“There is a lack of clarity, there is even disunity. There are oppositions between Hammond and Fox. There are divisions between Johnson and May,” he said.

“It is difficult to make sufficient progress. It is difficult to make the steps towards the second phase of the negotiations.”

Conservative ministers hope that at an EU council later this month, European leaders will at least allow for exploratory talks to begin on future trade allowing for talks to progress at a later date, maybe by Christmas.

A group of hardline Brexiteers have demanded that Ms may walk away from talks if the EU does not allow negotiations to progress by Christmas.