Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier will lead the talks with EU affairs ministers from the 27 member states to discuss how and if the UK will move on to the second phase.
Their decision on whether sufficient progress has been made to move on to Phase 2 is final.
But Britain will not be present during meeting set to take place after the General Affairs Council.
It comes at the same time the UK, along with Denmark and Malta, opted to remain out of talks about the Brussels club’s joint the military defence force, the EU Army.
Arriving for the meeting, Martin Callanan, Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the EU of the UK, said he was “very much looking forward” to his first General Affairs Council.
He said: “The UK remains as a fully engaged member of the EU until we leave. I look forward to some vert interesting discussions.”
Belgian deputy prime minister Didier Reynders said a Brexit agreement was “close”.
He added: “It’s important to work on the future relationship between the EU and the UK, notably on the issue of commerce where the UK is a very important partner.”
Prime Minister Theresa May flew to Brussels on December 8 to finalise a last-minute Brexit deal, which many have hailed as a step forward in the negotiations with the European Union.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed that enough progress was made on key Brexit issues in order to move on to trade talks.
Britain and the bloc finally agreed over EU citizens’ rights, the Brexit divorce bill and the Irish border.
The Brexit deal has received a mixture of responses, with some Brexiteers insisting Britain is better off to walk away with no deal.
Leading Leave campaigner Nigel Farage wrote on Twitter: “A deal in Brussels is good news for Mrs May as we can now move on to the next stage of humiliation.”
Brexit Secretary David Davis has since insisted that Britain could easily refuse to hand over the agreed £39billion exit bill if a trade deal with the Brussels bloc was not secured by the date of departure.