Brexit: EU says no UK trade talks without progress on budget

BERLIN – The European Union’s budget chief says there can be no negotiations with Britain about a post-Brexit trade deal unless the two sides make progress on “fundamental questions” including future payments to Brussels.

Guenther Oettinger says the future rights of EU citizens in Britain and the status of the U.K. border with Ireland also need to advance before trade talks can begin. The bloc is Britain’s biggest trading partner.

Oettinger told German weekly Welt am Sonntag that Britain agreed in 2013 to contribute to the EU budget until the end of 2020. In an interview published Saturday, he was quoted as saying that London is due to make further payments until 2023.

Britain’s government said this week that it wouldn’t pay into the EU’s budget after Brexit, slated for March 2019.