Britain and the European Union Failed to Reach in Principle Agreement on Brexit

Britain and the European Union failed on Sunday to reach an agreement in principle on the conditions of Brexit. Delegations in recent days have achieved real “progress in a number of key areas”, but a number of unresolved issues, including the problem of the Irish border, remain, the British government said in a statement. The sides expected to remove the main differences before the EU Summit, which will start on Wednesday in Brussels, in order to finalize the deal during a meeting of EU leaders. Until Wednesday, new negotiations between the sides have not yet been scheduled, writes Financial Times. In the absence of agreements, Brussels may refuse to hold the special Brexit summit scheduled for November. The agreement between the UK and the EU should be concluded before the beginning of December, so that the parliaments of the EU member states have time to ratify it before the official withdrawal of London from the EU, which will take place on March 29. Hopes for the early achievement of a preliminary agreement between the parties appeared after the British authorities reported at the weekend about the unplanned visit of the UK Brexit secretary Dominic Raab to Brussels. The failure of the negotiations that took place at the weekend is expected to re-intensify fears that Great Britain will also come from the EU without any deal, and also raises the question of whether the parties have the possibility of a political maneuver to resolve the most acute differences, the most important of which is the Irish border, writes The Wall Street Journal. London and Brussels are discussing how the open border between Ireland and the United Kingdom can be maintained in terms of the exit of Britain from the EU. There are sharp disagreements over the Brexit issue inside the British Cabinet. Source: Finmarket