Sources claim EU negotiating chief Michel Barnier modified his address at the Commission HQ on Thursday at the last minute – to include an acceptance that details on the financial settlement will not come in “incremental steps”.
Officials say that while a technical point it is the first time the EU has given ground on the divorce bill – the most highly charged political issue of the entire first phase of the divorce negotiation.
In his address, Mr Barnier slammed Britain for refusing to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. And he also said more “clarity” was needed on the UK’s position on the financial settlement.
But in a key sentence he said: “We know that the agreement on a financial settlement is not one that can be done by ‘petits pas’ – not through incremental steps.”
One insider said the change followed an intervention by Mr Davis on Thursday morning in talks with the French diplomat.
They said: “It’s a big concession. It means they don’t expect to see progress at each negotiating round and makes August easier.”
Alongside Mr Barnier at the press conference, Mr Davis insisted that whatever the bill turns out to be – the days of Britain sending “enormous” sums to the EU were over.