EU rules out UK trade talks before Brexit payment deal

European Union (EU) officials are ruling out any discussions with UK Prime Minister Theresa May over a post-Brexit trade deal until she agrees to settle Britain’s financial commitments to the bloc.

In a sign the EU is toughening its stance as Britain prepares to trigger two years of negotiations, two European officials familiar with the plan said in the best case scenario it may take until early 2018 to find common ground on the bill. The EU is determined to set its own pace and may not even reveal the sum it wants the UK to pay until after German elections