The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has set the British government a deadline of two weeks to give “vital” clarification on the financial commitments it is willing to honour, at the end of a sixth round of Brexit talks that offered scant evidence of any progress.

The issue of the border on the island of Ireland has also emerged as a serious challenge for the UK government, with the Irish demanding an urgent and definite commitment that a solution in effect keeping northern Ireland in the single market and the customs union will be found to ensure there is no return to a hard border. At a joint press conference in Brussels on Friday, the UK’s Brexit secretary, David Davis, implored Barnier and the EU27 to be flexible and move on to discussions about a future relationship, adding that there was a need to “build confidence” in the talks on the UK side.(theguardian)…[+]