Katy Balls Katy Balls

Theresa May’s weakness proves costly in the Brexit negotiations

So much for that Friday feeling – Theresa May’s day out at the European social summit has proved a slog. First, an increasingly angry Irish Taoiseach threatened to block the progress of Brexit talks over the Irish border – telling hacks that he couldn’t ‘in any honesty’ say that an agreement is close. Then, Donald Tusk issued a stern warning that ‘much more progress’ will have to be made in order for him to even consider letting the talks progress to trade in December.

The European Council president said that while ‘good progress’ on citizens’ rights is being made, he needs to see ‘much more progress’ on Ireland and on the financial settlement. In a helpful reminder that the clock is ticking, he told May that ‘this progress needs to happen at the beginning of December at the latest’. As for David Davis’ Brexit speech, on Thursday night, calling on the EU to compromise, Tusk quipped that he appreciated ‘Mr Davis’s English sense of humour’.

The words today from the summit – and the messages from Brussels in the past week – suggest that rather than softening their stance, the EU27 is hardening it.

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