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An interim agreement should have been reached before the EU summit – and the mood was positive
The cafes and bars of the street were crowded last Sunday while Brussels enjoyed an exceptionally hot weekend.
Among the drinkers were diplomats from EU Member States who had been kept in the dark since the negotiators of the European Commission and the United Kingdom had entered an intense and secret period of negotiations, dubbed jokingly "the tunnel".
"You can have a couple but not too much," said a senior official at the talks, hinting that the move was imminent.
After more than a week of radio silence, the rest of the European machine felt that a tentative agreement on the divorce treaty in Brexit was only in a few hours.
The appetizers were dropped after the UK announced that Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab would be in Brussels for face-to-face talks with his counterpart Michel Barnier.
Ambassadors from 27 other Member States were invited to prepare for an early evening briefing. Diplomats said the music was good.
British sources, however, warned that the situation was not as positive as it seemed and that there were still serious problems outstanding, especially with the so-called "backstop" – the safeguarding plan. to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland Northern Ireland remaining in the EU Customs Union.
Sunday: 18:43
A tweet from Michel Barnier changed the mood.
Negotiations would be "suspended" until EU leaders meet on Wednesday for a Brexit themed dinner. Both sides seemed seriously depressed.
The Politico website then claimed that officials had reached an agreement at a technical level that "had collapsed" when the secretary of Brexit had been involved.
British officials desperately needed to prove that Prime Minister Olly Robbins' European adviser had not drafted his own deal that had angered his political masters.
Monday morning, Downing Street had invented a new sentence to explain the stumbling block: the "backstop to the backstop".
It was a way of renaming the EU in its insistence that Northern Ireland remain in the customs union in case no other solution would be found to avoid the need to reintroduce a new one. border.
Theresa May reminded the House of Commons of her alternative to a customs agreement concluded with the whole of the UK with the EU, which had been tabled this summer under the name of "Customs Arrangement" temporary".
Previously described as a "bridge" between the post-Brexit transition phase (or "implementation"), it was now "our safety net".
Brussels noted with satisfaction that the Prime Minister had discussed a process for deciding when to end the date rather than a date, according to an "event" rather than a "time" formula.
It was also much closer to the phrase agreed with the EU that any security solution would be in place "until" another solution was found.
And it would be legal for the EU to engage in the Brexit process while a permanent customs solution was not, confirmed a European official who cited the European Treaties.
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In the meantime, it was privately suggested that both parties had found a way to solve the other half of the problem of the Irish border: to maintain Northern Ireland's alignment with the rules. single market in order to avoid controls at the Irish border, without necessarily avoiding them. between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Theresa May also suggested that more progress has been made than what people have achieved in discussions of future relations, including financial services.
The day before the meeting of the European leaders, Michel Barnier went to Luxembourg to inform the Ministers of European Affairs.
He alluded to the idea of extending the post-Brexit transition phase but gave only a few details. The UK seemed relaxed about this story despite the fact that it would dominate the rest of the week.
Brussels Summit: first day
Then came the first of a three-day marathon consisting of seven separate peaks in Brussels.
All European leaders spoke of the same scenario on Brexit: there was no breakthrough, but they wanted to keep talking.
"Do no harm and avoid anyone feeling offended when they leave," was the slogan.
Theresa May had 15 minutes to make herself heard. A diplomat said that she spoke so fast that it was as if she had a plane to take.
The other leaders had dinner on pan-fried mushrooms, turbot and sorbet without the Prime Minister.
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In the room, the Irish Taois Leo Varadkar brandished a copy of an Irish newspaper, one of which was dedicated to a murder committed during the unrest, to demonstrate Ireland's emotional case alongside its economic record.
Outside the room, European leaders have maintained their concept of a backstop reserved for Northern Ireland, while saying they were ready to "camouflage" it to make it as enjoyable as possible for the British.
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This was compared to a child distracted from a bowl of spinach filling the table with more appetizing foods.
A potential extension of the transition period was part of this effort.
It was possible that Ms. May was "cautiously" open, confirmed a manager. The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, said the same thing.
The dinner is over with the leaders who said they would not plan a Brexit summit in November, leaving the door open, however, if negotiations progressed.
Discussions on the lack of agreement – often perceived as a hostile act – have been minimized.
And British officials assured British reporters that a late-night drink starring Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and other people – but not Theresa May – was a celebration of the results of the Luxembourg elections rather than A "drive" in the UK.
"You are so paranoid," said an ambassador.
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Disasters had been avoided, but the transition proposal had created a national political nightmare for the prime minister.
Eat their greens
Downing Street was now trying to downplay the proposal: "Just an idea … it will never be used."
Their aim was to obtain a legally binding reference to a UK-wide customs agreement in the paperwork that would constitute the final agreement on Brexit, and they were exasperated by the fact that the media coverage of the summit was dominated by the issue of transition.
Then there was some confusion when the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said at a press conference that the 27 leaders had not discussed the concept. However, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that this would probably happen.
"Chaotic and uncoordinated" is the way a European diplomat described the component of the Brexit Summit.
He questioned the lack of planning, the lack of precision of the European Commission and the lack of coordination between Member States.
As the multiple EU summits ended, Theresa May's senior colleagues suggested that negotiations could not resume until the Prime Minister acknowledged that the withdrawal agreement should contain an option for the EU. support that could apply to Northern Ireland, but not to the rest of the population. UNITED KINGDOM.
The United Kingdom should also accept that its aspiration for a truly friction free trade could only be achieved by staying in the EU Customs Union and respecting the rules of the Single Market.
In other words: there are tasty treats, but Britain will be invited back to the table only if she is ready to eat her vegetables.
Listen to Adam Fleming and the rest of the BBC's Brexitcast team for the lows of Brussels and Westminster
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