EU Says Still Time for Brexit Deal as Failure Looms

Luxembourg, Oct 15 (AFP) Frustrated European ministers on Monday insisted there was still time to reach a Brexit deal despite the latest failed round of divorce talks, but the EU warned it was stepping up preparations for failure.

Meeting in Luxembourg, foreign ministers from the bloc's 28 members admitted that no agreement will be struck this week at an EU leaders' summit that had earlier been billed as the "moment of truth". EU Brexit pointman Michel Barnier met his British counterpart Dominic Raab in

Brussels on Sunday, but they failed to agree to a draft Brexit divorce arrangement, as EU leaders prepare to arrive on Wednesday for the summit. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, whose country would suffer the biggest economic impact after the United Kingdom from a "no-deal" Brexit, said the latest stumble was "frustrating and disappointing".

And in Brussels, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the bloc's own "no deal" preparations were being stepped up. "While we are working hard for a deal, our preparedness and contingency work is continuing and intensifying," Schinas said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a political high-wire act in trying to reach a deal that is acceptable to both the EU and lawmakers at home, where her minority government relies on the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Highlighting the challenges she faces, the DUP's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson on Monday warned it was "probably inevitable" Britain would leave the EU with no deal.

But Europeans insisted there was still time to resolve the outstanding issues, including the dispute over rules for trade in and out of Northern Ireland, before a possible emergency summit in November. Much will depend on the stance taken by the EU's two big power players France and Germany, with French President Emmanuel Macron insisting on a firm line in Brexit talks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a breakthrough would require "quite a bit of finesse and if we aren't successful this week, we'll just have to keep negotiating".

"We were actually pretty hopeful that we would manage to seal an exit agreement. At the moment it looks more difficult due to the problems surrounding the issue of Ireland and Northern Ireland," Merkel told the German Foreign Trade Federation.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Monday played down expectations of a Brexit deal being reached this week, saying an agreement was more likely in November or December.

"There are some fundamentals that we can't compromise on," Varadkar told reporters in Dublin. AFP

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