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AFP
Theresa May is willing to consider extending the proposed 21-month transition period after Brexit in order to break the current stalemate over Northern Ireland, senior officials said. ; EU.
Laura Kuenssberg, of the BBC, said No 10 had refused to exclude its extension at a summit in Brussels.
The Prime Minister addressed EU leaders in hopes of moving the process forward.
EU officials said the progress made was insufficient to convene a special summit of leaders next month to draft an agreement.
But they said the talks should continue in the hope of forging an agreement as soon as possible.
After talking to her 27 counterparts for about 20 minutes, Ms. May said she remained confident about "positive results" and called for "courage, trust and leadership" on both sides.
The UK must leave the EU on March 29, 2019 – but an agreement on how this will happen turns out to be elusive despite differences over how to avoid a tough border in Ireland.
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The United Kingdom has subscribed to the principle of "backstop", an insurance policy designed to avoid the need for customs controls at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, unless that a new Economic Partnership Agreement is concluded with the EU.
But the two sides can not agree on the form it will take and how long it will last. European leaders are now proposing to extend the post-Brexit transition period.
As it stands, it would last from March 30, 2019 to December 31, 2020. But it could last until the end of 2021 – in the hope that both parties would have more time to agree on a future partnership and that the bulletproof is never applied.
The transitional period, during which the United Kingdom would respect the rules of the single market and the customs union, is designed to prevent an "extreme advantage" for businesses.
The political editor of the BBC said that its extension would lead to "great hostility" on the part of Tory Brexiteers, who would argue that the UK would remain a "vassal" state subject to EU rules without having a seat at the table and should also continue payments to Brussels, although less important than now.
The Brexiteers claimed that Ms. May had conceded land again without getting anything in return. A longtime MP, MP Nadine Dorries, said it was time for her to let someone else negotiate.
The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, suggested that Ms May be "neutral" on the idea of extending the transition, but had shown her willingness to study the possibility.
He praised what he said was Ms. May's constructive tone but added that she had offered "nothing new" substance in her speech.
"Both parties have been talking about the idea of extending the transition period as a possibility on the table and one that needs to be addressed," he said.
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"She stressed the importance of the issue but she said nothing in terms of content.
"She said we would continue to look at the transition period but she said nothing for or against the three-year period."
Without commenting on the issue of transition, Candidate # 10 stated that Ms. May had asked EU leaders to work with the UK to find a creative way to resolve their current dilemmas.
Downing Street pointed out that the solution was to agree on a future framework for an ambitious trade agreement so that support is not applied.
Earlier, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that a longer transition period can not be a substitute for a concrete backstop agreement.
But he said the idea would have some merit, adding "if it helped reassure people that the backstop would never be activated, it would be a good thing."
Ms May held separate talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Varadkar and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as part of what British officials have described as "constructive and serious conversations".
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