European leaders meet for Brexit summit with balanced deal

European Union leaders converged in Brussels Wednesday on what had been presented as a "summit of truth" at the Brexit summit, but which leaves little hope for a breakthrough.

British Prime Minister Theresa May should urge her counterparts to step down from Britain, while European leaders hope she will come up with "concrete proposals" to break the stalemate.

EU Council President Donald Tusk told May that Britain needed to be creative to avoid a tough border between Ireland, an EU member, and the United States. Northern Ireland UK. This question paralyzed the divorce negotiations.

Britain leaves the EU on March 29, but an agreement must be signed soon so that parliaments have time to decide.

May plans to highlight positive things when she will address the 27 other European leaders on Wednesday – before their dinner without her – highlighting progress made in many areas. May will also have separate talks with leading personalities on the border issue: Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

The Irish Foreign Minister has hinted at a possible compromise, saying that the European Union is willing to extend the British transition period after Brexit, giving more time to find a permanent solution to the problem of the Irish border. .

At present, both parties are proposing to Britain to remain in the EU's single market and to abide by its rules from its block exit in March until December 2020. to allow time for new business relationships.

Many suspect that this will not be enough time, which has led the EU to require a "backstop" to make sure that there are no customs posts or other Other controls along the currently invisible border between British Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. Disagreement over the safety net paralyzed divorce negotiations.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier had suggested "more time in the transition period to agree on an alternative solution to the backstop". ".

The idea is to give the UK enough time to negotiate new customs arrangements, so the safety net is never used, he told the BBC.

Britain says it has not asked for an extension, but May has not yet put forward a proposal to unblock the border closure. It is surrounded by members of its conservative Brexit party, who oppose any compromise with the bloc, and by its parliamentary allies of the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, who insist that A solution to the border problem can not include customs controls between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom

Britain and the EU say they expect progress in the coming weeks, postponing the timing of an agreement in November, or even in December, when another summit of the United States. EU is planned.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that she still thought it was possible to reach a "good and lasting" agreement with Britain before she left – but stressed that Germany is also prepared for the risk of a departure without agreement.

With regard to future relations with Britain, she said "that it should always be clear that, even if we want to avoid difficulties, the difference between membership in the Union." European Union and a partnership with the European Union as the third state must and will become clear. "

At the same time, the EU's top trade official downplayed the importance of a US announcement announcing a trade deal with Britain, noting that London can not negotiate such pacts before to have left the block.

The US administration has informed Congress of its intention to conclude trade pacts with the EU, Japan and Britain. President Donald Trump has long stated that he wants an agreement with Britain, even though he is negotiating a messy exit from the EU.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Wednesday that "the UK can not negotiate any trade agreement as long as it is a member of the European Union".

Malmstrom said the Europeans "see this as a simple preparation prepared by the United States to negotiate with them and with others".

British opponents of Brexit believe that the UK will not be able to conclude a trade deal with the US unless it weakens existing EU rights protections. workers, animal welfare and protection of the environment.

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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this story.