Countdown to Brexit: Britain hopeful of breakthrough
UK told to present reworked proposals on Friday
London — Britain’s government is still hopeful it can secure a Brexit breakthrough with the EU this weekend ahead of a key parliamentary vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal next week, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday. With only 22 days before Britain is due to leave the EU, May has yet to get her deal passed by Britain’s deeply divided parliament, raising doubt and further uncertainty over Brexit. May is struggling to persuade the EU to agree to changes in the Irish backstop, an insurance policy to avert a hard border between the UK province of Northern Ireland and EU-member Ireland if a future trading relationship falls short. Talks this week led by UK attorney-general Geoffrey Cox failed to secure EU agreement, with officials in Brussels criticising the British proposals and telling May’s top lawyer to rework them and come back on Friday.
One UK government source said that with the EU showing no sign of moving in the talks there was little hope anything co...
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