European leaders converge on Brussels for key talks on Brexit

Today, the leaders of the EU’s 28 member-states will convene in Brussels for a key European Council summit that is expected to focus on Brexit.

Today’s conference follows a speech to parliament by PM May, where the embattled leader described the hurdles that remain before reaching a preliminary Brexit deal after rejecting a draft text earlier in the week. The EU has remained opposed to continuing negotiations with UK without concessions being made to adopt its proposal to prevent a hard Irish border. The PM also faces increased political pressure from her coalition partner, the Democratic Unionist Party, to prevent any EU-led solution on Northern Ireland that would see it remain part of the customs union.

The turbulence in negotiations has encouraged European leaders to plan for an emergency summit in November as the possibility increases that a Brexit deal may not be reached before the March deadline. EU leaders are therefore unlikely to progress talks without agreement on the Irish border. As a result, expect today’s summit to continue efforts to bridge differences between the two sides, but also to highlight Brussels’ continued efforts to prepare for a hard Brexit.

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