May to try and strike Brexit deal

Failure to reach agreement could make EU rethink if Britain leaving bloc is possible.

BRUssELs: British Prime Minister Theresa May closed in on a divorce deal with European Union chiefs with last-minute progress on the thorny issue of the Irish border after months of deadlock.

May met European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and was to see EU president Donald Tusk in Brussels for what the bloc says is the “absolute deadline” for an improved offer from London.

A deal on the key divorce issues – Ireland, Britain’s divorce Bill and the rights of EU nationals in Britain – would allow the EU to approve the start of trade and transition talks at a summit on Dec 15.

“Tell me why I like Mondays!,” Tusk said on Twitter, saying he had been “encouraged” by a phone call with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on the negotiations.

“Getting closer to sufficient progress” at the December summit, he added.

May and Juncker did not speak to reporters as she arrived, with the pair shaking hands before the EU commission chief ushered her in to lunch by putting an arm behind her back.

Ireland’s demands on the status of the border with British-ruled Northern Ireland have been the key stumbling block recently, with fears that the talks could even collapse amid tensions between the two neighbours.

But European Parliament members who met Juncker yesterday said there were signs Britain was ready to concede on keeping the EU customs and single market rules for Northern Ireland after Brexit in order to resolve the border problem.

“I was told that the UK is prepared for that, and that there is agreement there, which to be hon- est is a surprise to me,” Philippe Lamberts, a Green MEP who is on the European Parliament’s Brexit task force, told reporters.

“The pie is almost ready. If everything goes well, the lunch could be much more about the future relationship than about settling the withdrawal agreement.”

Ireland’s state broadcaster RTE said the two sides had reached an agreement that there would be no divergence on the rules between north and south – a key demand by Dublin – although the language was yet to be finalised.

Varadkar – who last week received Tusk’s backing for an effective veto on a Brexit deal if Ireland was not happy – said he would be making a statement about the first phase of talks later yesterday.

In a further sign of progress, Tusk cancelled a trip to the Middle East today and Wednesday “due to a critical moment in the Brexit talks and due to consultations on draft guidelines for the second phase” his spokesman Preben Aamann said.

London has, however, rejected the EU’s deadline and, ahead of next week’s summit, appears keen to push the talks to the wire.

“With plenty of discussions still to go, this will be an important staging post on the road to the crucial December Council,” a British government spokesman said.

May, Brexit minister David Davis and the prime minister’s Brexit adviser Olly Robbins are having lunch in Brussels with Juncker, EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and Juncker’s chief-of-staff Martin Selmayr. She will meet Tusk later.

A formal EU decision on any deal is not expected until Wednesday.

The remaining 27 EU states have demanded “sufficient progress” from Britain on the Bill, citizens rights and Ireland in order to move on to talks on a post-Brexit transition period of up to two years, and on a future relationship including a trade deal.

Failure to do so this month could make the EU “rethink” whether an overall Brexit withdrawal deal is possible at all, Tusk has warned, raising the prospect of a chaotic exit with far-reaching economic effects.

With plenty of discussions still to go, Monday will be an important p staging post. British government spokesman