EU leaders won’t even consider trade deal with UK at Brexit summit this week because of talks collapse

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Brexit campaign

The 27 EU leaders will not even consider a trade deal with Britain at the “moment of truth” EU summit in Brussels tomorrow, following the collapse of talks on the Irish border this weekend.
The shock revelation, confirmed by senior EU diplomats familiar with preparations for the meeting, shows the rising risk of a no-deal Brexit as Theresa May travels to the EU capital in a bid to save her project. 
Over dinner on Wednesday night the heads of government will decide whether there is any point in holding a special Brexit summit in November or whether the horse has already bolted and they should step-up preparations for a no-deal.
But they will not be presented with any drafts of the “joint political declaration” on the future relationship – the outline of a possible trading relationship between the UK and EU. Brussels has long insisted a trade deal can only be considered once withdrawal issues like the Irish border are settled.
“The agreement on the withdrawal agreement, the Irish backstop, would trigger the delivery of the outline of the joint political declaration. That outline was supposed to be drafted by the Commission and would form the basis of the discussion of the EU leaders tomorrow evening,” one senior EU diplomat said, speaking in Brussels ahead of the meeting.
“Since there is no agreement on the withdrawal, including on the Irish backstop, there will not be an outline of the joint political declaration on the table on Wednesday evening. That’s the situation as it stands and it will not change before Wednesday.”


The lack of discussion about the future relationship is a huge blow for the Prime Minister, who has said she needs detailed plans on trade to get any withdrawal agreement – including on the multi-billion pound divorce bill – past MPs. Her Chequers proposals were rejected out of hand by EU leaders as unworkable last month in Salzburg, after months of hints by the European Commission that they would not fly.

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