An EU flag is seen outside the the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain on March 29, 2017. (Xinhua file photo/Tim Ireland)
BRUSSELS/LONDON, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Monday urged Britain to take a more serious stance and quickly provide official positions on all Brexit issues as the latter called for more "flexibility and imagination" on both sides in the third round talks.
EU officials said last week there were no plans to extend the negotiations beyond the March 2019 deadline despite a clear lack of progress on crucial issues so far.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart, David Davis, are scheduled to hold a news conference at the end of this round on Thursday.
The talks will focus once again on Britain's financial settlement, the so-called Brexit bill, citizen rights and Northern Ireland's border.
Unlike in the first two rounds, when the British delegation failed to get into the details of the financial obligations, this week it will present a legal analysis of the situation, local media Euroactive reported.
TALK PAST EACH OTHER?
During the press conference, Barnier and Davis reaffirmed their stance separately, with division still being large and clear.
"To be honest, I am concerned, time passes quickly," Barnier told reporters in a press conference prior to the new Brexit talks.
"We welcome the (recent) UK government papers and we have read them very carefully... but we must start negotiating seriously," he said.
"We need UK papers that are clear. The sooner we remove the ambiguity, the sooner we will be in a position to discuss the future relationship and a transitional period," he added.
Responding indirectly to Barnier, Davis insisted that British documents were "products of the hard work and detailed thinking that has been going on behind the scenes not just the last few weeks but the last 12 months."
"They should form the basis of what I hope will be a constructive week of talks between the European Commission and the UK," said Davis.
Progress will require "flexibility and imagination from both sides ... We're ready to roll up our sleeves and get down to work again once more," said Davis.
MORE FLEXIBILITY IN NEW TALKS
A day before Davis' trip to Brussels, British government said London will push for a flexible approach in the third round.
"Both sides must be flexible and willing to compromise when it comes to solving areas where we disagree," said a press briefing from the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEu).
"As the EU itself has said, the clock is ticking so neither side should drag its feet," it added.
During the talks, Davis will build on work done over the last two weeks that outlined Britain's strategy by calling for "imagination" on both sides to drive talks forward, a spokeswoman for the DExEu said.
British government published a series of position papers outlining the country's negotiating positions regarding its withdrawal talks earlier this month.
"The papers demonstrate Britain's pragmatic approach to negotiations, and highlight how conversations about our exit and the future deep and special partnership we want with the EU are inextricably linked," a government spokesperson said.
One of the papers focused on Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the European Court of Justice.
Political commentators said the paper left open the possibility of Europe retaining a say on the British law, particularly in any transitional period beyond March 2019 when the two sides part company.
However, British Prime Minister Theresa May had insisted that the jurisdiction of the European court will end with Brexit, with control over the British law returning to Britain.
Another paper discussed facilitating cross-EU trade and business, saying that Britain will seek a special customs deal with the EU after the completion of Brexit.
By setting out Britain's view on the future partnership with the bloc, the papers should help to drive progress on the current topics being discussed, British government sources said.
LABOUR'S U-TURN LOOMS LARGE A DIVIDED KINGDOM
In a dramatic shift, Britain's main opposition Labour Party on Sunday called for the Kingdom to remain signed up to Brussels for up to four years after departure in 2019, opening up a clear divide with Theresa May's ruling Conservatives.
The party's Brexit shadow secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Labour would seek a transitional deal that maintains the same basic terms that Britain currently enjoy with the European Union.
"That means we would seek to remain in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during this period. It means we would abide by the common rules of both," said Starmer in an article published in a local newspaper.
Starmer said a transitional continuation of membership beyond the March 2019 departure date would be as short as possible but as long as necessary, but would also mean accepting the free movement of labour, possibly until around 2023.
Starmer said May's "ideological obsession" with leaving the European customs union and the European single market during a transitional period means the options to deliver a good deal for Britain are diminishing fast.
He said: "The fanciful and unachievable proposals put forward in the government's recent customs paper show the colossal risks it is willing to take with British jobs and the economy."
Meanwhile, Brexit campaigners condemned Sunday the move as an attempt to effectively sabotage the EU exit demanded by last year's in-or-out referendum.
Richard Tice of the pressure group Leave Means Leave, told the Express website that "This is one of the most astonishing U-turns in modern political history.
A Tory spokesman said: "The truth is Labour have no idea what they want and this is a weak attempt to kick the can down the road."
Tory MP Maria Caulfield, who was on the Commons EU Exit Committee, said that only last month Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was stating that a Labour government would leave the single market.
