British Prime Minister Theresa May came away from a day in an increasingly impatient Brussels on Thursday with a pledge of renewed talks that held out some hope for a new Brexit deal, if no sign of compromise yet. Ms May is scheduled to fly to Dublin this Friday.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Dublin on Friday evening for Brexit talks, Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Mr Varadkar was speaking after his meeting with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels this afternoon.
Brussels has stepped up its opposition to attempts to reopen Theresa May’s Brexit deal as senior Tories began talks on alternatives to the Irish backstop. The European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the backstop was the “only operational solution” to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier says the Irish backstop is part and parcel of the UK's Brexit deal and will not be renegotiated. Speaking at the European Parliament, Mr Barnier said it was a realistic solution to preventing a hard border.
Barclays is moving €190bn (£166bn) of assets to Dublin because it cannot wait any longer to implement its Brexit contingency plan. The High Court, which has approved the move, says the move involves 5,000 clients. However, few jobs in London are expected to be affected.
The clouds darkened over Europe's slowing economy on Wednesday as the German government slashed its growth forecast and said concerns about a chaotic Brexit and trade tensions were holding back the continent's powerhouse. Germany's Economy Ministry said Wednesday it was cutting its 2018 forecast to 1% from 1.8% in its previous outlook issued last fall.
The European Union on Monday adopted quotas for farming produce it will accept from third countries after Britain leaves the bloc and acknowledged this could happen before it has concluded talks with them on the subject.
Theresa May is being urged to secure changes from the EU to the Northern Irish backstop element of her Brexit deal to get it past parliament. Ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson says winning a freedom clause would be unadulterated good Brexit news.
European Council President Donald Tusk has hinted that the UK should stay in the EU, after the prime minister's Brexit deal was rejected in parliament. If a deal is impossible, and no-one wants no deal, then who will finally have the courage to say what the only positive solution is? he tweeted.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing likely defeat in Parliament when she asks MPs to approve her Brexit deal this Tuesday. That result would trigger huge uncertainty about the future of Britain's exit from the European Union.