Brexit talks have reached a deadlock.

Brexit talks have reached a deadlock, and the U.K. is pinning its hopes on European leaders to find a way out. The problem is no-one in Europe really wants to help.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was convinced that “with political will” progress is “within our grasp” in the next two months. The Brits understood his comments as an “elegant cry for help” aimed at European leaders, Bloomberg’s Tim Ross reports. Others saw it differently, with the onus put firmly on the U.K.’s squabbling government to find something else to offer.


As EU leaders prepare to meet next week at the summit that was initially penciled in as the start of trade talks, the 27 countries are maintaining a united front. Their position is unchanged: the U.K. needs to make clear its intentions on the financial settlement before the future relationship can be discussed.

Prime Minister Theresa May is vulnerable, and could even be toppled and succeeded by a hardliner, but even that prospect isn’t raising the chance of concessions, Mark Deen and Ian Wishart report. That’s the view of a top European official, speaking on condition of anonymity about the thinking in a major capital.

There are plenty of good reasons to give May nothing next week. For starters, it would be hard to justify to a restless public that the U.K. is being let off the hook, according to the official. Money is in short supply, and no government wants to part with it. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is more worried about putting together a government. 


And it is too early in the process for the EU to cede ground, he said. When March 2019 rolls by and there is no deal, it’s the U.K. that will fall off the much-feared cliff. There’s a group of countries that has long been keener on moving on to trade—those most affected by Brexit and with closest trading ties—but even they are maintaining public unity, at least for now.

In a clear change of tone, both sides talked yesterday of contingency plans. There is no agreement yet even on when Barnier might be allowed to discuss a possible transition deal.

Barnier meets EU envoys on Friday, and Handlesblatt reports he will lobby them for permission to negotiate that two-year bridging arrangement. Any transition would hinge on the U.K. agreeing to pay its exit bill—the thorniest part of the talks so far. The Financial Timesreports leaders could allow Barnier to start “internal preparatory discussions” about the transition deal and future relationship, in what would be a minor concession to the U.K.

Time is running out. With just 18 months until Britain falls out of the EU, with or without a deal, the chances of a chaotic split are increasing.


Brexit Latest

Amendment Tangle | May’s flagship piece of Brexit legislation risks getting bogged down in Parliament. After some 300 amendments —including some proposed by members of her party—the EU Withdrawal Bill won’t start the parliamentary scrutiny phase next week as expected. The government risks defeat on more than a dozen amendments, the Guardian and Telegraph report.

Lucky Lawyers | Another of Brexit’s unintended consequences: London’s young lawyers are making more money. With some U.S. firms setting pay in dollars, the plunge in sterling pushed up salaries in the local currency. U.K. firms then had to follow suit or risk losing talent, Bloomberg’s Kaye Wiggins reports.

Hiring Spree | The government is planning to hire 2,000 additional staff to deal specifically with Brexit, the FT reports. That comes on top of 1,500 appointments already made since last year’s vote.

Business vs. BOE | The British Chambers of Commerce said it’s worried about a hit to sentiment from a Bank of England rate hike at a time of already sluggish economic expansion and Brexit uncertainty. 

Secret Files | Opponents of Brexit are threatening to sue the British government if it fails to release internal reports into the impact of Brexit. The Good Law Project, run by tax attorney Jolyon Maugham, has written to DexEU demanding the studies are released within 14 days.

On the Markets | The pound slid as much as 0.8 percent to $1.3122 on Thursday after Barnier’s “deadlock” comment. Mizuho Bank expects the currency to fall to $1.25 by the end of the year, almost 5 percent lower than current levels.

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