EU, Britain edge closer to Brexit deal

BRUSSELS — British and European negotiators blew through one deadline after another Wednesday as they raced to reach a Brexit deal on the eve of a critical summit.

Amid a frenzy of consultations in Brussels, London and Paris, the negotiators appeared to get near an agreement, then shied away from it amid concerns on both sides. Policymakers were more optimistic than they had been in months that a deal could be imminent, but they were unsure whether they could get there before European leaders gather Thursday afternoon. And they were skeptical about having it fully finalized by the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline.

Addressing a group of Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared the negotiations to climbing Mount Everest. Bim Afolami, a lawmaker at the meeting, said Johnson claimed they were close to the summit, but “it’s still shrouded in a cloud. But we can see it and we will get there.”

According to people briefed on the talks, Johnson was willing to make a slew of concessions in the interest of fulfilling his promise to get Britain out of the EU this month — and perhaps at any cost.

Not only does he have to strike a bargain that can get the approval of 27 other EU countries — itself a difficult task — he then must sell it at home. Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May made a deal with Brussels, only to have it defeated three times in Parliament.

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“I want to believe an agreement is being finalized and that we will be able to endorse it tomorrow,” said French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel late Wednesday.

But they were running out of time. Before the two-day summit begins, representatives from each of the EU’s 27 remaining member states will want to digest any deal and make recommendations to their leaders.

The key sticking point in the closed-door talks in Brussels has been what happens to the border between Northern Ireland, which will leave with the rest of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, which will remain a member of the EU.

Both Britain and the EU say they want to keep the border open. But they have disagreed about how to achieve that.

The bargain they discussed Wednesday appeared to place Northern Ireland in a British customs zone but with EU trade rules.

But in a late-night meeting with chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, EU ambassadors voiced concerns about potential differences in tax rates between Northern Ireland and the EU, which they fear could lead to smuggling.

They also worried about British plans to regulate businesses more loosely than in the EU, which they said could make it harder to do a trade deal with London.