E.U. says Johnson’s Brexit plan lacking ahead of summit

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his Cabinet on Sunday that a Brexit deal can be achieved, but European Union negotiators warned that his plans are not yet good enough to be the basis for an agreement.

The British premier said that while a path to an agreement could be seen, a significant amount of work is still required and the U.K. must be prepared to leave the bloc at the end of the month, according to a spokesperson.

That warning seemed to echo the mood in Brussels. Chief E.U. Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefed the bloc’s government envoys that talks had not made enough progress and the U.K.’s proposals were falling short of what’s needed, mainly in the customs area, according to two officials familiar with the matter. Negotiations are due to continue into Monday.

A third person in the meeting with Barnier and Secretary General of the Council of the E.U. Jeppe TranholmMikkelsen said that ambassadors of the 27 remaining E.U. governments were told reaching a deal will be “very difficult” before the summit this week without a political push from London. Summit Preparations

A fourth official added that weekend progress was less than what the E.U. wanted to see, although the envoys were told it’s still not impossible. Though it’s hard to predict how the talks will unfold, the leaders themselves will not negotiate on the legal text when they meet on Thursday. That means an agreement on the wording must be reached by Wednesday and cleared by the representatives of the remaining governments before the summit starts.

In Paris late Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reminded the U.K. that it will become one of the E.U.’s “potential competitor” in global markets “along with China and the U.S.” once it leaves the E.U.