EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier, right, and British Secretary of State David Davis, second left, participate with their teams in a round table meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels on Monday, June 19, 2017.
"We must first tackle the uncertainties caused by Brexit", Mr Barnier said, citing the rights of European Union citizens in Britain and the possible impact on the open border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
"Today we agreed on dates, we agreed on organisation and we agreed on priorities for the negotiation", Barnier said.
Brexit negotiations which could define the UK's political and economic future have begun, with David Davis calling for a "new deep and special partnership" between Britain and Brussels.
"We launch negotiations in a positive and constructive tone, determined to build a strong and special partnership between ourselves and our European allies and friends in the future".
May officially triggered the two-year Brexit process in March when she was riding high in the opinion polls. The business groups want such a deal to "maintain the economic benefits of the single market and the customs union until a final settlement between the United Kingdom and the EU is agreed and implemented".
A letter signed by the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, manufacturing group the EEF, the Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors also calls for an early deal to secure the rights of European Union citizens living and working in Britain to stay after Brexit.
With her strategy unclear and her position insecure, Prime Minister Theresa May plunges this week into tortuous divorce talks with the European Union that will shape Britain's prosperity and global influence for generations to come.
Ostapenko: 'Enjoy the match, fight until last point' | Wins Roland Garros 2017
I'm just so happy. "I am really happy". "I am upset but congratulations to Jelena, you are a great champion", said the Romanian. Recalling her first experience of grass aged 15, Ostapenko said: 'When I first played on it I didn't like it at all.
Britain starts formal talks to leave the European Union on Monday, seeking a deal "like no other in history" despite entering fiendishly hard negotiations with a badly weakened government.
After failing to secure a parliamentary majority in a national election last week, UK's Prime Minister Theresa May's conservatives are in coalition talks with a small, far-right, protestant Northern Irish party, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
It will test the ingenuity of thousands of public servants racing against the clock to untangle 44 years of European Union membership before Britain is out, 649 days from now, on 30 March 2019.
After the initial shock of last year's Brexit vote, the bloc at 27 appears to have steadied in recent months and got a real boost with the election of new French President Emmanuel Macron in May.
A spokesman for the Department for Exiting the European said: "We believe that the withdrawal process can not be concluded without the future relationship also being taken into account". With May still hammering out the details of a post-election deal to stay in power with the support of a small Northern Irish party, there are fears of a disorderly exit that would weaken the West, imperil Britain's $2.5 trillion economy and undermine London's position as the only financial center to rival NY.
Barnier has warned that the negotiations must be wrapped up by October 2018 to allow time for all parties to ratify a final accord by March 2019.
Asked if he had given any ground to Britain, Mr Barnier said: "I am not in a frame of mind to make concessions, or ask for concessions".
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