Brussels — The European Union and Britain have given themselves a few more weeks to break the deadlock in their Brexit talks but for Brussels the delay seems mainly about Prime Minister Theresa May dealing with critics back in London. An accord sketched by officials from both sides last weekend stalled because May’s fractious government rejected a “backstop” insurance clause the EU wants in case future talks fail to forge a trade pact that avoids customs posts on the Irish border. An EU offer to extend a status-quo transition period by a year to end-2021, keeping Britain in a customs union to diminish the chances of the backstop being triggered, was not enough. EU negotiator Michel Barnier pledged at a summit to keep working “calmly and patiently”. But many EU leaders see the main negotiations to be had now as being among May and her allies in London, possibly only after she gets a budget through parliament early next month. They see little scope now for the EU to move.
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