Sibel Uğurlu
18 October 2018•Update: 19 October 2018
By Sibel Ugurlu
ANKARA
The European Council president on Thursday said the EU had decided to continue the Brexit talks "in a positive spirit."
"After listening to Prime Minister [Theresa] May's assessment of the state of the negotiations, the EU27 confirmed that we want to continue the talks in a positive spirit," Donald Tusk told a press conference alongside European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
On the outcome of a two-day EU leaders' summit which concluded on Thursday, Tusk expressed his readiness to convene the European Council on Brexit if the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier reports that decisive progress was made.
"And we should be clear that, as for now, not enough progress has been made," he said.
Tusk said the issue of the length of the transition period after the U.K. leaves the EU was not discussed during the summit.
"If the U.K. decided that an extension of the transition period would be helpful to reach a deal," Tusk added, "I am sure that the leaders would be ready to consider it positively."
Tusk also said the leaders expressed their resolve to stop the flow of illegal migration.
"We noted in particular the need to closely watch the situation in the Western Mediterranean, and in this context, to strengthen our cooperation with Morocco, as recommended by [Spanish] Prime Minister [Pedro] Sanchez," Tusk added.
Strengthening security against cyber-attacks
Tusk said the EU leaders agreed to strengthen internal security and urged efforts to fight illegal cyber activities especially in the wake of a cyber-attack against the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as revealed earlier this month.
"In this context, we ask ministers to work on a sanctions regime that will be specific to cyber-attacks. Such a regime should help to protect our citizens, companies and institutions from all kinds of cyber security threats," he said.
