EU's Tusk sees next Brexit step this year

President of the European Council Donald Tusk listens at a news conference during the European Union Tallinn Digital Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, September 29, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

BRUSSELS - European Union Council President Donald Tusk said Brexit negotiations will not move to the next stage before December at the earliest, not later this month, as Britain was hoping.

Tusk bemoaned on Tuesday the slow pace of negotiations on the divorce proceedings with London and said it was still far too early to move to the next phase of planning a new trade relationship because the initial breakup talks have yet to reach "sufficient progress".