UK’s May wants to talk trade, but the EU see no sign of a breakthrough
Brussels/London — UK Prime Minister Theresa May will demand that the EU move Brexit talks on to trade in a face-to-face showdown with leaders, over dinner, even as EU officials see a breakthrough as all but impossible. May wants negotiations to move on to the future relationship and hopes to discuss how to make quicker progress during the meal at a Brussels summit on Thursday, according to a senior UK government official. While the EU is also keen to make progress, officials say the UK hasn’t done enough to translate the concessions of May’s speech in Florence last month into concrete pledges. It intends to postpone a decision on May’s key demand until December, and even then there’s no guarantee. A senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he saw the chances of starting trade talks by year-end as only 50-50. Failure then would leave the UK with just months to settle its future relationship with its biggest trading partner, and increase the risks of crashing out w...
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