EU, UK Agree on 80% of Brexit Deal, Including Citizens' Rights - Negotiator

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that Brussels and London had found consensus on about 80 percent of the agreement on UK withdrawal from the bloc, including arrangements on citizens' rights.

"Let's keep in mind that we have already agreed on a large part of this withdrawal agreement, very large part, more or less 80 percent, this includes the very important issue of citizens' rights, which has been our priority since the beginning of these negotiations," Barnier said at a joint press conference.

Earlier in the day, Barnier met with UK Brexit minister Dominic Raab to discuss the positions of Brussels and London on the withdrawal deal after UK government submitted its Chequers plan.

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As the deadline for the Brexit agreement is drawing closer, the parties are still at a deadlock on the major withdrawal issue — post-Brexit customs arrangements. According to the Chequers plan, adopted by the UK cabinet earlier in the month, the two parties could create a free trade area for goods and maintain a "common rulebook" for all goods. Brussels, however, rejected the proposal, claiming that no non-member was entitled to enjoy the application of EU duties and tariffs.