The dinner of the EU27 that was devoted to the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union did not enable any significant breakthrough on Wednesday 17 October, due to a lack of sufficient progress in the negotiations beforehand – notably on the issue of the backstop intended to avoid the return of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Asked to present her view of the ongoing talks, British Prime Minister Theresa May painted a positive picture of the progress in the negotiations, according to Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who spoke briefly at the end of the dinner.
"I must honestly recognise that we already knew a lot of what we were told. It is positive, of course, that she once again said she wanted to find a solution", he said.
According to Finland's Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, the evening would even have been virtually useless if his Irish counterpart had not clarified the stakes linked to the Irish border.
No additional summit at this stage
The EU27 recognised that further time was needed to reach an agreement enabling the UK's orderly withdrawal. However, they chose not to convene an extraordinary European summit in November, which had initially been earmarked for the weekend of 17-18 November.
This additional summit will be convened if EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier considers that sufficient progress has been made, several diplomatic sources said on Wednesday evening.
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven stipulated the need for "an agreement in principle" with London to be set as a condition for an extraordinary summit to be held. "We don't want to sit down and negotiate all night", he said.
In the meantime, Barnier, in whom the EU27 renewed their full confidence to achieve a successful outcome in the negotiations despite the very short time limits, was asked to continue the work. His mandate has not been changed one iota – the integrity of the single market must be preserved and the backstop must be set up unless a better solution comes to light during the negotiations on future relations between the EU and UK after Brexit.
In her statement, May reportedly spoke of a certain openness as regards the proposal put by Barnier the previous day of extending the transition period by a year until the end of 2021 in order to enable London and the EU to find a solution for Northern Ireland, both in the backstop and in the solution aiming to keep the whole of the UK in the customs union system.
"We've solved most of those issues in the withdrawal agreement. There is still the issue of the Northern Irish backstop, but I believe everybody round the table wants to get a deal, and by working closely and intensively we can achieve a deal", May said when she arrived in Brussels.
If a few more months are needed we will have to see, but extending the transition period is not a solution in itself, a diplomat from a member state had said earlier. And he warned that if they went beyond 2020, they would have to ask about the British contribution to the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework.
May's speech brought "nothing new", as European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said, who also attended this discussion.
Preparing for a 'no-deal' Brexit
The EU27 underlined the need to continue preparing actively for the scenario of a 'no-deal' Brexit and, according to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, they asked the European Commission to work "more vigorously" on such a scenario.
Rutte said a 'no deal' Brexit was not desirable but it was nonetheless important to continue preparing for one. "We are currently recruiting lots of customs officers", he added. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with editorial team)