May and Juncker remain ‘confident’ of deal despite no breakthrough in Brussels

BREXIT talks broke up in Brussels without a deal, after a proposed solution for the Irish border met fierce resistance from the Democratic Unionist Party.

Discussions are set to resume later this week, with both Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker declaring themselves “confident” that a solution can be found in time for a key summit of the European Council on December 14.

Mrs May began her lunchtime meeting with the Commission president with hopes high that Brussels would be able to declare that sufficient progress had been made on the so-called “divorce issues” in order to allow the leaders of the remaining 27 EU nations to give the green light for trade talks to begin next week.

But reports that Mrs May was on the verge of agreeing a deal on “regulatory alignment” between Northern Ireland the Republic led the DUP to warn it would not back any agreement which threatened the territorial integrity of the UK.

Mr Juncker said the meeting was “friendly and constructive”.

He went on: “I have to say that she’s a tough negotiator, and not an easy one, and she’s defending the point of view of Britain with all the energy we know she has, and this is the same on the side of the European Union.

“Despite our best efforts and significant progress we and our teams have made over the past days on the three main withdrawal issues, it was not possible to reach a complete agreement today.

“We now have a common understanding on most relevant issues, with just two or three open for discussion.

“These will require further consultation, further negotiation and further discussions.

“We stand ready to resume the negotiations with the United Kingdom here in Brussels later this week.

“But I have to say that we were narrowing our positions to a huge extent today, thanks to the British Prime Minister, thanks to the willingness of the European Commission to have a fair deal with Britain.

“I’m still confident that we can reach sufficient progress before the European Council of December 15. This is not a failure, this is the start of the very last round. I’m very confident that we will reach an agreement in the course of this week.”

Mrs May said: “We have had a constructive meeting today. Both sides have been working hard in good faith.

“We have been negotiating hard. And a lot of progress has been made. And on many of the issues there is a common understandng.

“And it is clear, crucially, that we want to move forward together. But on a couple of issues some differences do remain which require further negotiation and consultation.”

DUP leader Arlene Foster spoke out after Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Coveney said the Dublin Government’s concerns over the post-Brexit border with Northern Ireland were set to be addressed fully.

Regulatory alignment could mean both Ireland and Northern Ireland following the same rules governing trade, to ensure that goods can continue to move freely across a “soft” border with no checks.

But critics say that it would effectively move the customs border between the UK and the Republic into the Irish Sea.

How to maintain a soft Irish border has emerged as the key sticking point in Brexit negotiations, after London indicated it was ready to up its offer on the so-called “divorce bill” to as much as £50 billion.

Speaking ahead of Mrs May’s meeting with Mr Juncker, Mr Coveney told RTE Radio One he believed that the post-Brexit border would be “invisible” with “no barriers” and “will look very much like it looks today”.

But Mrs Foster made clear the DUP would oppose the deal if it meant Northern Ireland being subjected to different rules from the rest of the UK.

Mrs Foster’s intervention disrupted the choreography of events in Brussels, as the PM broke off from talks for urgent telephone discussions with the DUP leader.

Mrs May’s planned meeting with European Council president Donald Tusk was delayed, as was an expected statement by Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Meanwhile the leaders of devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and London added a further complication by announcing that if Northern Ireland was to be offered a special status after Brexit, other parts of the UK should be offered a similar opportunity.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who opposes Brexit, said: “If one part of UK can retain regulatory alignment with EU and effectively stay in the single market – which is the right solution for Northern Ireland – there is surely no good practical reason why others can’t.”

London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan said the deal reportedly being discussed in Brussels would have “huge ramifications for London”, which voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage called on Mrs May to “leave office now”.

Regulatory alignment in Ireland would be “a bitter betrayal” of the 17.4 million people who voted for EU withdrawal, said Mr Farage, adding: “It is a concession too far, for it will lead to endless problems in Scotland and it damages the integrity of the United Kingdom.”

And he said reports that Mrs May was ready to allow a role for the European Court of Justice in overseeing EU citizens’ rights in post-Brexit Britain were “utterly unacceptable”.

“Theresa May has got to go,” said Mr Farage. “If we want to leave the EU, she’s got to leave office now.”