Finance minister Kristian Jensen said the negotiations were “not rocket science” as he insisted Brussels’ wrangling over how much money the UK should pay to leave the bloc was nothing more than a game seen in many political negotiations.
And he boosted the hopes of Brexit negotiator David Davis as he said the EU must now compromise if the bloc wants to keep the talks moving.
His comments come as the fifth round of Brexit negations are due to begin on Monday amid speculation France and Germany will continue to restrict the scope of talks until more firm guarantees on the Brexit bill sum are offered by the UK.
Mr Jensen said: “In any political negotiations, there is not enough time, not enough money, not enough this, not enough that.
“This is part of the game. Because what we are dealing with here is not rocket science. We are not speaking about putting a man on Mars or solving the problem of CO2 emissions.
“We are now on the same page … In my view it is rather important we get into a more close and more speedy process on concluding some of the issues.”
He added that he though both sides needed to be ready to move the talks along – a move which Britain is keen for, following Mrs May’s speech in Florence last month which offered the EU a host of concessions.
The British prime minister offered to pay €20bn in the two years after the UK leaves in May 2019, in a bid to ensure no member state loses out following Britain’s departure.
However on Tuesday, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier told the European parliament he was holding out for the UK to agree to honour all its past financial commitments.
And Brussels continues to insist that until “sufficient progress” is made on that issue, talks about the future and potential trade deals will not be opened.
But Denmark, a longtime ally of the UK within the Brussels bloc, insisted compromise must be made.
Mr Jensen said: “We are talking about a political agreement between two parties.
“If there is one thing politicians are good at doing it is making an agreement, if the political will is there.
“This will never be a 100 per cent win for one side or the other side. This will be a political compromise.”
Mr Jensen’s intervention comes just weeks after a meeting in Copenhagen with David Davis.
And his comments also come after the head of the RBS warned Europe has “no incentive” to move onto a transitional deal because they will gain in a financial exodus from London following a no deal scenario.
Howard Davies, who leads the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said that the EU was deliberately dragging out Brexit talks to entice anxious bankers.
When asked whether the government recognises banks are beginning to suffer, the RBS chief said: “I hope so, because we keep telling them.”
He said: “If there are no details by the first quarter of next year, the number of moves of people out of London will accelerate.
“If nothing is certain by then, I think people will trigger those contingency plans.”