Then the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier arrived at the summit on Friday morning, saying that he had invited the UK for a round of Brexit negotiations "next Monday" as part of a plan to speed up the talks.<doc-sep>Although time is fast running out to secure a Brexit deal, Theresa May is still going round in circles. In March last year, when she triggered the two-year Article 50 exit process, the prime minister warned the EU that “failure to reach agreement would mean our co-operation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened”. That was seen as blackmail by the EU and went down so badly that May backed down. In her Florence speech six months later, she promised that, whatever happened in the negotiations, “the UK is unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe’s security”. However, May has now revived her threat. She warned the 27 EU leaders at their Brussels summit last night they were putting their citizens’ lives at risk by restricting co-operation with the UK on crime and terrorism after Brexit. It won front-page headlines at home, and tossed a tiny bone to the hardline Brexiteers demanding she “gets tough” in the negotiations. But it was a desperate diversionary tactic to distract attention from the UK’s woeful failure to produce a Brexit blueprint, two years after the referendum and only nine months before it leaves the EU. The threat again played badly in Brussels, where it was seen as a step backwards at a time when both sides agree they urgently need to move forwards. May was trying to appeal over the heads of the commission, which handles the talks, in the hope the 27 leaders order it to show more flexibility. The commission takes a black and white view of the world; the EU is a rules-based organisation and if you are in the club, you obey all the rules. On security, that means the full jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). May is prepared to respect the ECJ’s remit on case law, but not its direct jurisdiction. There is a deal to be done with the UK as a “third country”, and probably at the eleventh hour. But May will need to move further on the ECJ, one of her red lines. The EU leaders, meeting without May this morning, made clear their frustration at the lack of a UK plan but offered to change their red lines if she dilutes hers. It’s an olive branch she would be wise to grab. The Brussels summit was long seen as a significant milestone towards a Brexit deal. At the very least, agreement was expected on how to avoid a hard border in Ireland. But it ended today with no sign of progress. EU officials now eye the 18-19 October summit as the critical moment. In their diaries, they have ringed the Conservative Party conference ending on 3 October; they hope May will “get serious” after clearing that hurdle. But a deal now looks unlikely before the EU’s December summit. UK cabinet ministers have always admitted privately that time was their biggest enemy; the EU would have the whip hand as the clock ran down to 29 March, 2019. Despite talk by both sides about stepping up preparations for a “no deal” departure, Brussels knows the lack of planning by London makes it empty rhetoric. Now May will try to turn the lack of time into her friend. When the cabinet meets at her Chequers country retreat next Friday, she will argue that time is running out to secure a good deal, with only six working weeks before the October summit because of the summer break. So the moment for compromises has arrived. Is this a cunning master plan May had all along, which explains why she has repeatedly put off difficult decisions to another day, exasperating UK and EU officials and ministers alike? I doubt it very much. Her priority – day-to-day survival – leaves little room for grand strategy. People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Show all 30 1 /30 People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Rex People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young protestor shouts as she takes part in the People's Vote demonstration against Brexit Getty Images People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal A protester's pro-EU t-shirt EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Gina Miller and Caroline Lucas EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Tens of thousands of people march through London EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Demonstrators at the People's Vote March Getty People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal 'Two months too young to decide on my future' REUTERS People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young girl joins in the march PA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal An EU flag is draped across the statue of Winston Chruchill in Parliament Square REUTERS People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Vince Cable MP, Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller, Tony Robinson and Caroline Lucas MP join with crowds PA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Crowds gather on Pall Mall PA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal A man resembling Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, joins EU supporters Reuters People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal People gather in Trafalgar Square REUTERS People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller and Tony Robinson PA People's Vote march – demanding vote on final Brexit deal EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, participate in the 'People's Vote' march REUTERS The compromises could include sticking close to the EU single market for goods, which might in turn require a form of free movement for EU workers with a job to take up in the UK, a close customs arrangement for the foreseeable future, a bigger remit for the ECJ and continuing budget payments. To Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson, this would amount to a soft Brexit – in his eyes, worse than EU membership, since the UK would have no say over single market rules. It might be the moment when he resigns, and he might not be alone. May’s dilemma is that the White Paper due to be agreed at Chequers needs to be specific in order to break the logjam in the EU negotiations. But she might be tempted to make it a Green Paper in all but name, with options rather than firm proposals, in an attempt to keep everyone on board and prevent resignations. May should finally face down the hardline Brexiteers and deliver the blueprint the EU needs to advance the talks. As one Brussels source told me today: “The Brits are cutting it fine, to say the least; the longer they wait, the worse deal they will get.”<doc-sep>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union issued Prime Minister Theresa May a final Brexit warning on Friday -- put your cards on the table, offer ways to overcome “huge” differences and prevent Britain from crashing out of the bloc without a deal. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May attends an European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir On the second day of a summit more focused on migration than Brexit, leaders of the other 27 EU countries were united in stepping up the pressure on May to overcome rifts in her government and move forward with all-but-stalled talks. May, who left the summit after the first day, has been reluctant to spell out detailed Brexit plans because of deep divisions in her Conservative Party over the terms of Britain’s biggest foreign policy shift in almost half a century. But she has promised to thrash out an agreement with her top team of ministers at a meeting next week and intends to present a policy document, or white paper, setting out the government’s aims for a future partnership after that. With only nine months to go before Britain leaves the EU, it cannot come soon enough for summit chairman Donald Tusk and the bloc’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. “This is the last call to lay the cards on the table,” Tusk told reporters, adding to growing calls for Britain to move quickly to try to secure a deal by October this year. Barnier repeated the warning that “time is short”. “Now we are waiting for the UK white paper and I hope it will contain workable and realistic proposals. But let me mention once again that the time is very short,” he said. The white paper will set out Britain’s vision for its future relationship with the EU, something that has hobbled attempts to settle a divorce agreement especially over pledges on both side to prevent a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland. CARDS The lack of a proposal on how to keep a near-invisible border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland has stalled Brexit talks, increasing frustration among the other leaders. “It is clear that Europe will remain united on the Irish border question,” French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference, adding that London needed to be swift in delivering more clarity on the future relationship it wants with Europe. The summit’s conclusions underlined the leaders’ concerns “that no substantial progress has yet been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland/Northern Ireland” but again held out the possibility of flexibility if “the UK positions were to evolve”. After a marathon dinner to try to hammer out a deal on a crisis over migration, Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, summed up the agreement on Brexit with a tweet: “Almost 9 hours to approve MigrationEU conclusions, not even 1 minute to approve Brexit conclusions. EU can still work together.” May again said on Friday she was “ready to intensify and accelerate the pace of negotiations”, but only after warning EU leaders to consider Europe’s safety before cutting Britain adrift from its security architecture. Security is seen by British officials as one of the country’s strongest cards to play in the talks, but another of May’s pledges -- to leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice -- has made continued cooperation more difficult. Asked whether she was bringing up security to try to deflect attention from a dearth of proposals on future trade, she told reporters: “No, the future security partnership we have with the European Union will be very important.” “We currently enjoy a high level of cooperation with member states of the EU in a number of areas on security that are important for our citizens. This is what is at stake and I want to see a strong and deep security partnership continuing with our European Union partners.”<doc-sep>
EU leaders took "less than a minute" to confirm their stance on Brexit negotiations, as the bloc's member states demanded clarity from Theresa May. After all-night talks on migration, EU heads of government were revealed to have taken less than 60 seconds to approve their joint approach on the UK's exit when they reconvened on Friday morning. They continue to wait on Mrs May to reveal more detailed plans, with EU leaders expressing their impatience at the delay as the prime minister battles for an agreement among her warring ministers. Malta's prime minister Joseph Muscat suggested the quick decision on Brexit showed the "EU can still work together", following the divisions over migration that dogged Thursday night's marathon discussions at a European Council summit in Brussels. He posted on Twitter: "Almost 9 hours to approve #MigrationEU conclusions, not even 1 minute to approve #Brexit conclusions." Speaking after the summit, European Council president Donald Tusk warned Mrs May "this is the last call to lay the cards on the table". "There's a great deal of work ahead and the most difficult tasks are still unresolved," he said. French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU "can no longer wait", while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "time is of the essence". Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player May: 'We are ready to accelerate and intensify negotiations' In the remaining 27 EU member states' joint conclusions on Brexit, agreed in Mrs May's absence on Friday morning, the bloc expressed its concern that "no substantial progress" has yet been achieved on a backstop solution for the Irish border. The prime minister has rejected the EU's plan for preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland, in the event it is not avoided in the terms of a future EU-UK relationship, while the bloc has responded coolly to the prime minister's recent counter-offer. In their conclusions, EU leaders said the European Council "insists on the need for intensified efforts" so the UK's withdrawal agreement - including Irish border solutions - can be concluded in time for Britain's departure in nine months' time. Among other outstanding issues on the UK's withdrawal agreement, EU leaders welcomed "further progress" but noted the application of the deal to Gibraltar "still needs to be agreed". The bloc agreed "work must also be accelerated" on the future UK-EU relationship, with Brussels waiting on the prime minister to set out her detailed plans. "This requires further clarity as well as realistic and workable proposals from the UK as regards its position on the future relationship," the EU leaders stated. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player PM: EU has listened to UK on migration They also repeated an offer that, if Mrs May ditches her Brexit red lines on the single market, customs union and European Court of Justice, they will "be prepared to reconsider" their offer on a future relationship. The prime minister used the time she was allowed at the summit's working dinner on Thursday, before talks turned to migration, to make a plea to EU leaders to consider the safety of their citizens amid intransigence by Brussels officials on future security co-operation. However, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar raised doubt over how forcefully Mrs May had been able to make her point. Asked for his thoughts about Mrs May's speech, Mr Varadkar asked reporters: "There was a speech?" On his arrival at the European Council summit to brief EU leaders on Friday morning, the bloc's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned "time is very short" to conclude a Brexit deal and that a "huge and serious" gap remains between the EU and UK, in particular on the Irish border issue. He said: "We have made progress but huge and serious divergence remains, in particular on Ireland and Northern Ireland. "After Brexit the EU wants an EU-UK ambitious partnership, on trade as well as on security. "But we have to base this partnership on our values and our principles, respecting also the UK red lines." Mr Barnier added he was waiting on Mrs May's promise to publish a white paper on her detailed Brexit plans on 9 July. Its publication will follow a showdown of the prime minister's divided cabinet ministers at her Chequers country retreat next week.