Brexit deal this month unlikely

CHANCES of a Brexit deal being done this month are becoming less likely by the day, the Taoiseach has said.

The UK government has been scrambling to finalise backstop proposals to avoid a hard border in order to secure an EU summit this month and get the Brexit deal over the line.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier will only sanction the special meeting if he believes Theresa May has workable solutions to avoid a hard border.

Without a meeting this month, talks will go right down to the wire as the outstanding issues in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement will have to be resolved at the next summit in mid-December – the last realistic opportunity for avoiding a chaotic no-deal departure by the UK.

Speaking at a meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä in Helsinki yesterday, Mr Varadkar said: ‘I think it’s possible for us to come to an agreement in November, with a view to having a summit in November. But I do think with every day that passes, the possibility of having a special summit in November becomes less likely.’

Speaking on the possibility of the backstop, he said he hoped it would never have to be used and added: ‘It is part of an insurance policy and we hope that if it is ever used, it will only have to be temporary,’ and that it must apply until another agreement supersedes it.