Signs indicate Brexit deal could be close

British negotiators were locked in last-minute talks with their European Union and Irish counterparts on Monday, trying to put together a Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May might take to Brussels.

London has broadly agreed to many of the EU’s divorce terms, including paying out close to 50 billion euros. But the issues of the rights of expatriate citizens and the UK-EU border on the island of Ireland remain, diplomats said.

Brussels officials and diplomats sounded increasingly confident of a deal over the weekend, but they caution that much will depend on the outcome of May’s talks over lunch.

A senior EU diplomat briefed on progress in the talks said: “I have a good feeling but I am not prejudging the outcome.”

May hopes her talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, due to start at 1:15 pm (12:15 GMT), can persuade her 27 fellow EU leaders that sufficient progress has been made on divorce terms for them to agree next week to open talks on their future trade relationship.

In a sign events are moving fast, the man who will chair a crunch summit next week, European Council President Donald Tusk, cancelled a trip to Jerusalem and Ramallah and hastily scheduled his own meeting with May for later on Monday.

EU officials said Tusk scrapped his travel plans due to a “critical moment” in Brexit negotiations. He was standing by to discuss the preparations for trade talks. Zoltan Kovacs, the Hungarian government spokesman who was visiting Brussels, told reporters he was “optimistic” of a deal.

Dublin, backed by the rest of the EU, is seeking strong assurances that London will commit to keeping business regulations in Northern Ireland the same as in the EU, to avoid a “hard border” that could disrupt peace on the island.

“Hopefully, we’ll find a way forward today,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told state broadcaster RTE ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss the issue before May’s talks.