British Prime Minister Theresa May and EU leaders agreed on Friday that "more work" is needed on Brexit as fears mount that talks will fail to move on to the next phase as hoped in December. May launched a diplomatic offensive on the sidelines of a summit in Sweden, strolling with French President Emmanuel Macron along the port in the city of Gothenburg as she tried to break the Brexit stalemate.
May also met EU chief Donald Tusk and the premiers of Ireland, Poland and Sweden in a bid to convince them that Britain would make enough progress to open up talks next month on future trade relations and a transition period. Britain's messy divorce from the EU after 40 years of membership overshadowed the original purpose of the summit, a plan to improve social standards and see off the threat of populism in the post-Brexit future.
The EU has demanded Britain make "sufficient progress" on the key issues of its divorce bill, citizens' rights and the Irish border if it wanted an agreement to move on to talks on a future trade deal and transition period. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the "clock is ticking" to reach a deal in time.
After her meeting with former Polish premier Tusk, May's Downing Street office said they "agreed that there is more work to be done and discussed how to take further steps forward together in advance of the European Council in December."
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