BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain and European Union political leaders have agreed in principle to a text setting out their future relationship that can be endorsed by EU leaders at a summit, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday.

Referring to a text discussed on Wednesday by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU summit chair said in a statement: “The Commission president has informed me that it has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the leaders.”

The text was shared with the 27 other governments of the European Union on Thursday morning. </s> (Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders meet for a summit in Salzburg, Austria, with Brexit and migration on the agenda.

European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters on Wednesday that Brexit talks are entering a decisive phase and that at Thursday’s meeting he’ll propose an additional summit in mid-November.

“Some of Prime Minister May’s proposals from Chequers indicate a positive evolution in the U.K.’s approach as well as a will to minimize the negative effects of Brexit,” Tusk said. “On other issues, such as the Irish question, or the framework for economic cooperation, the U.K.’s proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated.”

U.K. and EU Aim to Break Brexit Deadlock as Time Runs OutBritain’s Brexit Fixation Brings Other Government Work to a HaltInside Steve Bannon’s Plans for a New European Political OrderBrexit and the Path to a Deal: Here’s What to Expect in SalzburgWhy Hungary and Poland Rattle Europe’s Liberal Order: QuickTake

*Leaders attend party meetings from 4:30 p.m.*They go into dinner at about 6:30 p.m. CET and will answer reporters’ questions on the way in

--With assistance from John Follain, Katharina Rosskopf, Nikos Chrysoloras, Jonathan Stearns, Tim Ross and Boris Groendahl.

To contact the reporters on this story: Arne Delfs in Berlin at adelfs@bloomberg.net;Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net;Ian Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo </s> SALZBURG, Austria (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he would call an extra Brexit summit of European Union leaders around mid-November to finalize a deal with Britain.

Tusk told a news conference before chairing a summit of all 28 EU leaders in the Austrian city of Salzburg later on Wednesday:

“The Brexit negotiations are entering their decisive phase. Various scenarios are still possible today but I’d like to stress that some of Prime Minister May’s proposals from Chequers indicated positive evolution in the UK’s approach.”

Tusk said that went for the UK’s readiness to work closely with the EU on security and foreign policy after Brexit but stressed that Chequers proposals from premier Theresa May for the future Irish border and economic cooperation between the EU and Britain “will need to reworked and further negotiated”.

“Today there is perhaps more hope but there is surely less and less time,” Tusk added. “Every day that is left we must use for talks. I’d like to finalize them still this autumn,” he said. He would propose that the EU leaders hold another extra summit on Brexit around mid-November. </s> Britain and European Union political leaders have agreed in principle to a text setting out their future relationship that can be endorsed by EU leaders at a summit, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday.

Britain and European Union political leaders have agreed in principle to a text setting out their future relationship that can be endorsed by EU leaders at a summit, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday.

Referring to a text discussed on Wednesday by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU summit chair said in a statement:

"The Commission president has informed me that it has been agreed at negotiators' level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the leaders."

The text was shared with the 27 other governments of the European Union on Thursday morning. </s> European Council President Donald Tusk said the European Union and Britain have agreed on a draft declaration on the future of their political relations after Brexit.

Referring to a text discussed on Wednesday by British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Tusk said in a tweet Thursday: "The Commission president has informed me that it has been agreed at negotiators' level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the leaders."

Tusk, who chairs meetings of EU leaders, says he has sent the draft political declaration to the U.K.'s 27 European partners.

"The declaration establishes the parameters of an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership across trade and economic cooperation" and other areas, according to a copy of the document seen by French Press Agency (AFP).

He says the draft declaration still requires "the endorsement of the leaders."

EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels on Sunday to rubber-stamp the declaration and a separate divorce deal.

May will make a statement on Brexit to parliament at 1430 GMT on Thursday, the opposition Labour Party said on Twitter. </s> British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that the Brexit negotiations were at a "critical moment" ahead of an EU summit.

"The negotiations are now at a critical moment," she told UK parliament, adding that British sovereignty on Gibraltar - a contentious issue ahead of the summit - would be "protected".

Earlier, she described the draft Brexit Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK as "the right deal for the UK".

Speaking outside No 10 Downing Street, she said: "This is the right deal for the UK. It delivers on the vote of the referendum.

"The British people want this to be settled. They want a good deal that sets us on course for a brighter future. That deal is within our grasp and I am determined to deliver it."

British PM @theresa_may says "This is the right deal for the UK." | https://t.co/O9fmzG0lkp pic.twitter.com/2ROEIUOHPa — RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 22, 2018

However, MPs have warned Mrs May that they will vote down her deal in the crucial House of Commons debate which is expected early next month.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson urged her to "junk" her backstop plan for keeping the Irish border open, which he said "makes a nonsense of Brexit".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that Mrs May had returned from Brussels with "waffle".

"It represents the worst of all worlds, no say over the rules that will continue to apply and no certainty to the future," he said.

This morning, European Council President Donald Tusk said that Britain and European Union political leaders have agreed in principle to a text setting out their future relationship that can be endorsed by EU leaders at a summit.

Referring to a text discussed yesterday by Mrs May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU summit chair said in a statement: "The Commission president has informed me that it has been agreed at negotiators' level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the leaders."

The text was shared with the 27 other governments of the European Union this morning.

The declaration sets out an "ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership," officials said.

"The declaration establishes the parameters of an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership across trade and economic cooperation" and other areas, according to a copy of the document seen by AFP.

I have just sent to EU27 a draft Political Declaration on the Future Relationship between EU and UK. The Commission President has informed me that it has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the Leaders. — Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) November 22, 2018

According to the draft declaration, the "parties envisage having a trading relationship on goods that is as close as possible, with a view to facilitating the ease of legitimate trade."

Read more:

In full: Draft political declaration on future EU-UK relations

Key points in the declaration

Dáil agrees to support draft Brexit agreement

More Brexit stories

Both the EU and Britain "should aim to deliver a level of liberalisation in trade in services well beyond the parties WTO commitments," according to the draft declaration.

On the issue of the border with Northern Ireland, the declaration reads: "The Parties recall their determination to replace the backstop solution on Northern Ireland by a subsequent agreement that establishes alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland on a permanent footing."

"Facilitative arrangements and technologies will also be considered in developing any alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland on a permanent footing," it adds.

The transition period, which Britain and the EU hope will begin once Britain leaves the EU on 29 March, can be extended "for up to one or two years," according to the draft declaration.

It comes as Mrs May is battling to keep her Brexit deal alive as she readies to return to Brussels for last minute negotiations on Saturday.

Last night, Mrs May returned from talks with Mr Juncker in Brussels without having finalised the deal.

Mrs May said: "We have made further progress. And, as a result we have given sufficient direction to our negotiators, I hope, for them to be able to resolve the remaining issues.

"And that work will start immediately.

"I now plan to return for further meetings, including with President Juncker on Saturday to discuss how we can bring to a conclusion this process and bring it to a conclusion in the interests of all our people."

The move came after reports from Brussels that the Sunday summit could be scrapped.

As anger continues in Westminster over the draft Brexit Withdrawal Treaty agreed last week, Mrs May's partners in government, the DUP, say they are not withdrawing from the confidence and supply deal agreed with the Tory party.

DUP MPs did not support Mrs May’s government in a number of Commons votes this week.

But party leader Arlene Foster said last night that Mrs May should reflect on the fact that she does not currently have enough support to get her deal through a Commons vote.

As the countdown to the scheduled summit intensified, British Chancellor Philip Hammond said that if the Brexit deal is rejected by the UK parliament it would unleash "political chaos" and could lead to EU withdrawal not happening.

Speaking on ITV, he said: "It's clear that if the deal is not approved by parliament we will have a politically chaotic situation.

"And, we don't know what the outcome of that will be.

"And for those who are passionately committed to ensuring that we leave the EU on the 29th of March, 2019, one of the things that they are going to have to bear in mind is the possibility that, in that chaos that would ensue, there may be no Brexit."

He added: "It could be no deal, but it could be no Brexit, we just don't know.

"When we look at the economy, and the operation of the economy, getting a smooth exit from the European Union, doing this in an orderly fashion, is worth tens of billions of pounds to our economy."

Mrs May faced a strong push back from Spain over the status of Gibraltar in the "divorce deal".

Mrs May spoke with her Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez yesterday evening to try and deal with the situation.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "She said there had been good engagement between the UK, the government of Spain and the government of Gibraltar in order to come to an agreement in the withdrawal agreement and associated package of memoranda of understanding relating to Gibraltar.

"The Prime Minister reiterated her commitment to agreeing a deal that works for the whole UK family including Gibraltar, the other UK overseas territories and the crown dependencies."

Mr Sanchez has said he will "veto" Brexit unless there are changes to the draft agreement.

He said: "After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain far away.

"My Government will always defend the interests of Spain. If there are no changes, we will veto Brexit."

Reporting: Reuters, PA, Fiona Mitchell </s> German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left), British Prime Minister Theresa May (centre) and President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz attend the European Union Leaders Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday (Anodolu Agency photo)

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders grappled with Russia and Brexit at a "minefield" summit in Brussels on Thursday at the end of one of the most turbulent years in the bloc's history.

The 28 leaders are dealing with the migration crisis, sanctions against Moscow over the wars in Ukraine and Syria, and a troublesome pact with Kiev that the Netherlands threatens to veto.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will later be left out in the cold while the other 27 have dinner without her in a bid to present a united front over how they handle Britain's departure.

May however dismissed any suggestion that it amounted to a snub and called for as "smooth and orderly a process as possible".

"It is right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing," said May, who has promised to trigger the two-year divorce process by the end of March.

Lithuania's "iron lady" President Dalia Grybauskaite meanwhile played down a report that Britain's ambassador to the EU had warned the government that a full post-Brexit trade deal could take 10 years.

"10 years? I hope it will be a lot less," she told reporters.

The one-day summit, cut back from the usual two days, wraps up an “annus horribilis” for the bloc that has seen it face a wave of eurosceptic populism including the shock Brexit referendum vote in June.

"We are treading on a minefield, there are so many issues on the agenda that still can go wrong," warned a senior EU official.

The fate of civilians in Aleppo as Syrian and Russian forces drive out rebels is also on the agenda, although EU leaders will stop short of threatening any new sanctions against Moscow.

EU President Donald Tusk is set to meet Aleppo mayor Brita Hagi Hasan who is in Brussels to push the bloc to support the opening of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians.

The leaders will issue a statement that the EU "strongly condemns" the assault by the "Syrian regime and its allies, notably Russia", but will only say that "the EU is considering all available options," according to a draft seen by AFP.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said the leaders were not set to consider sanctions, insisting instead that the bloc would try to use its "influence" with Iran and Russia.

Mogherini is also expected to push plans for increased European defence cooperation in the wake of Brexit and amid fears about US President-elect Donald Trump's commitment to NATO allies.

Agreement will be easier on the EU's stiff economic sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, which were imposed in 2014 after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will debrief leaders, after which "I expect that there will be a consensus" on a six-month rollover, a German government official said.

The rollover is expected despite little appetite among some countries and worries that Trump is showing signs of a rapprochement with Vladimir Putin.

The thorniest issue on Thursday could be Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's efforts to negotiate a way past a referendum in April in which his country voted against a key EU-Ukraine pact.

The Netherlands is the only one of the 28 EU states that has not ratified the deal so far, and Rutte wants vows that the pact is not a first step towards EU membership for Ukraine, and that it will not provide defence guarantees to Kiev.

"Failure of the ratification would be a huge defeat for the EU, Ukraine, a victory for Russia," the senior EU official said.

In the evening, Brexit but not May will return to the table, with the EU 27 expected to highlight their unity in a statement saying they agree to launch talks as quickly as possible after she does so.

But nothing is simple with the EU and the issue has already sparked a turf war in Brussels.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, is set to lead the talks but European Parliament chief Martin Schulz warned bluntly of "grave consequences" for any deal, which could even be rejected if MEPs are not included in the process. </s> European Union leaders have unanimously agreed on the guidelines that the bloc will follow when negotiating with the UK over its exit from the union.The talks to approve the guidelines were chaired by European Council President Donald Tusk on Saturday. The special summit, which was attended by the leaders of the 27 member states, took less than 15 minutes to unanimously agree upon the guidelines, which Tusk issued last month.After the talks, Tusk tweeted that a "firm and fair political mandate" for the talks was ready.The negotiations will begin after the UK's general election on June 8.Speaking before the talks Tusk said : "We all want a close and strong future relationship with the UK. There's absolutely no question about it. But before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past.""We will handle it with genuine care, but firmly. This is, I think, the only possible way to move forward."The guidelines indicate that the union is willing to hold talks on a future trade deal with the UK before Brexit is complete only if there is "significant progress" on the "divorce negotiations."Key issues are expected to focus on citizens' rights, the border on the island of Ireland, and outstanding bills.Additionally, the 27 leaders voted to support automatic union membership for Northern Ireland should it ever vote to unify with the Republic of Ireland. They also backed Spain having a veto on any deal that concerns Gibraltar.French President Francois Hollande warned that there will be a "price and a cost for the UK - it's the choice that was made.""We must not be punitive, but at the same time it's clear that Europe knows how to defend its interests, and that Britain, the UK, will have a less good position tomorrow outside the EU than today in the EU," Hollande said according to the BBC President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker has called on the UK to stop blocking EU spending, saying it would help the negotiations. He also said that some in Britain underestimate the difficulties that will be involved in coming to an agreement, according to Reuters.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a press conference on Saturday that the EU wants good relations with the UK in the future, "but we also want to represent our interests."She also stressed that there is no alliance against the UK."[It's] very natural that we 27 now want to speak with one voice. [That] doesn't mean we have an alliance against the UK," Merkel said, adding that the bloc needs a better understanding of what the UK wants before it can negotiate a trade deal. </s> BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May discussed the latest on Brexit with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the latter said ahead of an EU leaders’ summit this Thursday and Friday.

“She (May) informed him (Juncker) on the latest state of play... and consulted him about the best way how to approach the (European Union summit). Discussions are continuing,” the spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, editing by Thomas Escritt)
European Union leaders approve the proposed Brexit deal, at a summit in Brussels.