So, another EU
summit, and another
deadlock for Theresa May.
The British prime minister
was in Brussels this week
trying to unlock those talks
about the UK's departure
from the bloc.
And she didn't get very far.
The prime minister was asked
to put forward new proposals
to try and move
things along, and all
she came up with was the
idea of possibly extending
the transition period.
This is the point after March
2019 where everything stays
the same to allow businesses
to prepare for new trading
arrangements.
This is a very
fraught idea, though.
Conservative MPs at home see it
as just pushing back the Brexit
date into the future
and prolonging
those hard decisions.
Businesses don't particularly
like the idea of it, either.
It's even more uncertainty
for both the economy
and for growth prospects.
But given the talks
are going nowhere,
Mrs May didn't really have
much choice at the moment.
So, what's going to happen next?
Well, the idea of a
special summit in November
to try and sign off
that deal doesn't look
like it's going to happen yet.
If there is a breakthrough,
then the EU27 leaders
could gather around and sign
off on a Brexit withdrawal deal.
The second thing
is Mrs May is going
to face even more
pressure at home
from the Conservative party.
MPs are increasingly concerned
the talks are going nowhere.
And they'll put pressure on
her to take a tougher line
with Brussels, even though
that doesn't seem to be
helping her getting a deal.
All the while, the
prospects of a messy no-deal
exit from the EU increase.
The longer the talks go on
without any progress, more
likelihood the UK will
leave in March of next year
without a deal.
Everybody, including
the prime minister,
sees this would be
a really bad thing.
So they now all need to work
to try and get a deal together.
In the end, I think there
probably will be a Brexit deal.
But the question for Mrs
May is not what the deal is,
but how she can sell it to
a sceptical cabinet, party,
and country at home.
