The European Commission and Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, agreed on Thursday 7 February in Brussels to hold further "discussions" on the political declaration setting out the framework for future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. But the EU reiterated its refusal to reopen negotiations on the UK's withdrawal agreement from the European Union and the backstop to avoid the return of a physical border to the island of Ireland (see EUROPE 12188).
The...