BREXIT Secretary David Davis has warned the European Union that "with the clock ticking" there is no point in negotiating aspects of the settlement twice, in an attempt to push withdrawal talks towards discussions on a future trading relationship.
The Brexit Secretary will publish five position papers this week further setting out Britain's negotiating strategy in an attempt to add pace to the talks.
A key document is expected on the Government's favoured approaches to enforcing rights outside the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Disagreement over the ECJ's role was a major sticking point during July's round of talks, with the UK aghast at Brussels' insistence that EU citizens' rights should be enforced by the court after Brexit.
This week's paper will set out different possible approaches to end the "direct jurisdiction" of the ECJ but still enforce individuals' and businesses' rights after Brexit.
But first, a document on goods will emphasise the Government is seeking a deal to ensure the freest and most friction-less trade possible in goods and services.
At present, the EU's position is that only goods should be discussed in "phase one" of the negotiations, in which "sufficient progress" must be made before talks on a future trade deal can begin. But Britain believes the goods and services sectors are impossible to separate and so wants to discuss them together.
Davis said: "With the clock ticking, it wouldn't be in either of our interests to run aspects of the negotiations twice."
He went on: "In the coming days we will demonstrate our thinking even further, with five new papers – all part of our work to drive the talks forward, and make sure we can show beyond doubt that we have made sufficient progress on withdrawal issues by October so that we can move on to discuss our future relationship."
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