Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has told member states that the British government has just 48 hours to agree a text on a potential deal or it will be told that negotiations will not move on to the next stage. There were signs that progress was being made towards a deal to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. He said: “Having consulted with people in London, [May] wants to come back to us with text tonight and tomorrow. Barnier’s and Varadkar’s comments came as Conservative and DUP sources sounded downbeat about the prospect of a quick consensus between the government and the party that is in effect propping it up in Westminster. DUP sources in Belfast were the most negative, suggesting talks could “creep into January”, but Whitehall officials were also very cautious about predicting any breakthrough soon.

Source: The Guardian December 06, 2017 20:52 UTC