Brexit negotiations between EU and UK officially start on Monday

Article 50 negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom will launch on Monday, June 19. According to the official statement released by the European Commission on Friday, the opening of negotiations at the political level next week will focus on issues related to citizens' rights, the financial settlement, the Northern Irish border and other separation issues, as part of the sequenced approach to the talks.

The agenda for the first formal negotiating round shows that the negotiations will start at 11:00 in Brussels (9:00 GMT) and at 17:30 pm (15:30 GMT).  A joint press conference by Michel Barnier and Secretary of State David
Davis is scheduled at 18:30 (16:30 GMT). 

According to a recent article by BBC News, a spokesman for Mr. Davis's Brexit department said: "We have been crystal clear about our approach to these negotiations. As we set out in the Article 50 letter, our view is that withdrawal agreement and terms of the future relationship must be agreed alongside each other. We are clear this is what is set out in Article 50."

Ahead of the Brexit talks, the GBP/USD pair closed the week around 40 pips higher at 1.2780 and the EUR/GBP pair lost nearly 30 pips on a weekly basis. 

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