European Commission publishes addendum for UK-EU future relationship negotiations

"In line with the Terms of Reference agreed on 28 February by the United Kingdom and the European Commission, and taking into account the current state of the negotiations after four rounds, the following forward process is established, in order to intensify the talks and to create the most conducive conditions for concluding and ratifying a deal before the end of 2020:

a. Negotiating rounds will take place in July, August and in September, unless agreed otherwise between the parties. Subject to any constraints required by the relevant national health recommendations, negotiating groups will meet physically, alternately in Brussels and London, in full, in the specialised sessions and in more restricted formats.

b. To accompany and complement the negotiating rounds, and in line with institutional and transparency arrangements in place on each side, the Chief Negotiators from both sides and their teams will meet as necessary in a more restricted format to ensure progress in the negotiations. Specialised sessions may also work under their authority on issues of particular difficulty in the negotiations to ensure that parallel progress is achieved across all workstreams.

The parties have agreed the following calendar in the first instance for July and August, which may be modified or complemented as necessary:

• Restricted round in the format of a meeting of the Chief Negotiators and of specialised sessions: week of 29 June to 3 July (Brussels)
• Meetings of the Chief Negotiators / their teams / specialised sessions: week of 6 July (London)
• Meetings of the Chief Negotiators / their teams / specialised sessions : week of 13 July (Brussels)
• Round 5: week of 20 July to 24 July (London)
• Meetings of the Chief Negotiators / their teams / specialised sessions : week of 27 July (London)
• Round 6: week of 17 August to 21 August (Brussels)"