European Council President Donald Tusk said that the reports from chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier “give me no grounds for optimism before tomorrow’s European Council on Brexit.” And he said, on Wednesday, he’s “going to ask Prime Minister May whether she has concrete proposals on how to break the impasse. Only such proposals can determine if a breakthrough is possible.” Tusk also added that the unscheduled Brexit summit in November only makes sense if there negotiation is really close to a breakthrough.
Separately, it’s reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the effort on Brexit negotiation as “squaring the circle”. And she emphasized that the EU is aiming to avoid a “hard” Irish border. And, it’s clear the the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland would not disappear completely.
