The concessions communicated during Theresa May’s Brexit speech by in Florence last Friday have started to yield positive fruits, easing some of the tensions suffered throughout the negotiations so far.

Though the U.K.’s goal of moving talks on to trade next month is probably far-fetched, the concession would ensure a minor diffusion to the deadlock and make it easier for the U.K. to discuss the contentious divorce bill.

As both sides went into the fourth round of negotiations with conflicting words, European Union leaders are considering going some way to meet one of the U.K.’s demands. They are contemplating bringing forward talks about life after Brexit.

While the two sides are still far apart on key issues, such as the role of the European Court of Justice, May’s promise of a two-year continuous remission into the EU budget during her speech hit some notes with her European counterparts and may have opened the door to some flexibility at least in the way talks are structured.

The concession on transition would take effect at the EU summit in October, where leaders may soft pedal on the mandate of chief negotiator, Michel Barnier which dictates that transition could only be discussed after the separation terms and the outline of the future trade relationship were agreed to, and thus allow him to talk about the bridging arrangements.

UK must act with the guidance that acknowledge that EU governments must approve its plans for a transition, and could only happen if the two sides achieve an overall deal on the British departure before March 2019, with Brussels still insisting that talks must show “sufficient progress” on the three main separation issues of the bill, the rights of EU citizens in the U.K. and the Irish border before negotiations can start on trade.

Adegbite Adedotun