EU's Sefcovic: UK position on Brexit far apart from what EU can accept

The European Union's main message to the UK was on the much-needed acceleration of the trade deal, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on Monday, as reported by Reuters.

Additional takeaways

"Protocol on Northern Ireland must be implemented faster."

"The UK's position is far apart from what the EU can accept."

"We maintain the view that the Internal Market Bill would constitute an extremely serious violation of the Withdrawal Agreement."

"All in all, today's joint committee meeting showed an urgent need to move into higher gear."

Market reaction

The GBP/USD retreated slightly from daily highs after these comments and was last seen gaining 1.13% on the day at 1.2890.