EU politicians will not be discussing Brexit as planned next month after the issue was taken off the agenda due to a lack of “tangible progress”.
The German government, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU council, had planned to discuss Brexit during the meeting on September 2, according to the Guardian.
But an EU diplomat told the publication that Brexit has been “taken off the agenda” due to the lack of “tangible progress”.
A white knight
While Angela Merkel had been pegged as a potential dealmaker when negotiations resume and enter a critical stage on September 7, the diplomat said: “Over the recent months Franco-German cooperation has gained new traction.
“Given this new reality it would be futile to wait for a white knight from Paris or Berlin to come to the rescue.”
Another EU official told the Guardian that the mood in the EU negotiating team is “bleak”, adding that time is running out to negotiate the complex legal treaty.
“We have had the whole summer completely wasted, a cabinet that doesn’t understand how the negotiations work, a prime minister who, I think, doesn’t understand how the negotiations work – because he is under the wrong impression that he can pull off negotiating at the 11th hour,” they said.
Trade talks “actually going backwards”
Last week Michel Barnier said he was left “disappointed and surprised” over the lack of progress in Brexit talks between the EU and UK, saying they are “actually going backwards”.
The EU’s chief negotiator said discussions did not move swiftly forward this week and that there is “very little time left” to conclude negotiations.
He added that a deal needs to be ready by the end of October to leave time for ratification.
Related: A timeline: How the right wing media manufactured the Proms fiasco
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
