EU’s Hogan upbeat on Brexit talks after opening ‘argy-bargy’

The mood in talks between the European Union and the U.K. is improving after some initial “argy-bargy,” the bloc’s Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said.

Boris Johnson’s government is showing an increasing sense of “realism” in negotiations, Hogan told reporters in Dublin on Thursday.

“The mood music was better than expected,” he said. “Once the initial skirmishing is out of the way, hopefully we can make a lot of progress between now and the end of June.”

Comments from London before the talks started on Monday may have amounted to “grandstanding ahead of everyone rolling up their sleeves and getting down to the serious part,” Hogan said. “There is too much at stake to squander these vital nine or 10 months.”

After three years of bad-tempered negotiations over the terms of Britain’s exit, the two sides want to strike a trade deal and an agreement in other areas, including fishing rights. On Thursday, Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, said an agreement is possible “even if difficult.”

He also said the relationship between the EU and the U.S. is improving, and mini-deals to reduce some tariffs between the two sides may be possible in coming weeks.