EU's Barnier: UK has not engaged on key Brexit conditions

Everyone must be realistic about the strict Brexit deadline at the end of October, European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday, per Reuters.

Additional takeaways

"So far, the UK has not engaged on key Brexit conditions."

"The UK has refused to give guarantees on open and fair competition."

"Level playing field is the only way to start a new EU-UK relationship."

"The UK has not shown any willingness to seek compromises on fisheries."

"No new legal texts have been tabled on fisheries by UK negotiators."

"Without a long term fair agreement on fisheries, there will be no new trade partnership with UK."

Market reaction

These comments don't seem to be having a significant impact on market sentiment. As of writing, the UK's FTSE 100 Index was up 1.63% on the day at 5,957. Meanwhile, the GBP/USD pair was down 0.2% on the day at 1.3355.