Theresa May admitted Brexit negotiations need to go at a ‘faster pace’ today as EU leaders ganged up on her.
Arriving for a potentially stormy summit in Brussels, the Prime Minister ducked questions about why she had not yet laid out concrete proposals for future trade ties.
And she insisted both sides had to intensify their work in order to get a deal that prevented damage to economies.
Mrs May is facing a gauntlet of rebukes from counterparts about the lack of progress at the gathering – with some openly questioning whether she is in control of her own government.
However, she is also under pressure at home to take a tougher line with the bloc as negotiations reach a critical point.
There had previously been hopes that the summit today could mark a breakthrough in progress towards a Brexit deal.
But the talks are now effectively deadlocked, with deep differences over the shape of trade arrangements and how to guarantee a soft Irish border. The main item on the agenda are the migration problems facing the bloc.
The Cabinet was warned by Mrs May’s chief Brexit official on Tuesday that there are effectively just six weeks left to hammer out an agreement – because Eurocrats go on holiday for all of August.
The PM (pictured arriving at the EU summit today) is running the gauntlet of rebukes from fellow leaders
Aides to French president Emmanuel Macron (pictured greeting German chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels today) have made clear he is ready to deliver a ‘serious and grave’ dressing down to the PM
Walking into the venue in Brussels, Mrs May told reporters: ‘I look forward to speaking with fellow leaders about the very good progress we have made on the withdrawal agreement and looking forward to securing our strong future partnership, which I believe is in the interests of both the European Union and the United Kingdom.
‘I think both sides are keen to continue that work at a faster pace than we have done up till now and certainly we would welcome that.’
Asked if other EU leaders were telling Britain to ‘get its act together’, Mrs May said: ‘We will be bringing the Cabinet together within the next week. We will be publishing a White Paper setting out in more detail what strong partnership the United Kingdom wants to see with the European Union in the future.’
Aides to French president Emmanuel Macron have made clear he is ready to deliver a ‘serious and grave’ dressing down to the PM.
Irish PM Leo Varadkar kicked off the attacks by warning that ‘time is running out’ and the chances of a no-deal Brexit are rising.
‘Time is running out for the Withdrawal Agreement to be concluded satisfactorily by the October European Council,’ he said.
Mr Varadkar risked further inflaming tensions by saying relations between the UK and EU would never be ‘one of equals’.
‘Any relationship that exists in the future between the EU and the UK isn’t going to be one of absolute equals,’ he said.
‘We are 27 member states; the UK is one country. We’re 500million people; the UK is 60million. So that basis fact needs to be realised and understood.’
He also revealed he will be supporting Belgium in the World Cup match against England tonight – which will take place while the leaders are having dinner.
As he arrived for the summit, Dutch PM Mark Rutte also said ‘time is running short’ -and suggested he was not sure whether Mrs May was in control of her government.
‘I’m not losing patience, but time is getting shorter and shorter to come to an agreement,’ he told reporters.
‘I do understand that it is difficult to come to agreements within her cabinet and within the UK parliament, but she has to.’
EU commissioner president Jean-Claude Juncker is attending the summit today (pictured)
Mrs May arrived at the EU summit in Brussels today accompanied by envoy Sir Tim Barrow
Mrs Merkel’s immigration woes are at the top of the agenda for the EU leaders today
‘The problem is to whom should we listen. Our point of contact of course is Theresa May.’
Mr Rutte also insisted the Irish border ‘backstop’ being demanded by the EU could not be temporary – as the UK has suggested.
‘That is crucial and there has to be a backstop that is not temporary, but is continuous in case we are not able to solve this problem in the future,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to speak in apocalyptic terms, but I believe the first, second and third priorities now is solving the issue of the Irish border. When that is solved, then so many other issues will be easier to discuss.’
EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker ‘I don’t have to lecture Mrs May but I would like our British friends to make clear their positions – we can’t go on with a split cabinet – they have to say what we want’
But Mrs May’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy urged her to hold firm in the face of pressure.
‘The EU showed last December – when the talks faltered over Northern Ireland that they want a deal,’ he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
‘But they want a deal on the best terms for them, and the very worst for Britain. As things stand, they might well succeed.
‘There is little point complaining, but we should listen and our strategy should change… The time for sincere cooperation with a partner that does not want to sincerely cooperate is over: we must toughen up.’
The EU has demanded a ‘backstop’ provision in the divorce agreement that would essentially mean Northern Ireland staying in the single market and customs union if no other deal is reached.
However, Mrs May has dismissed the idea as unacceptable because it would break up the UK.
EU council president Donald Tusk was in No10 earlier this week for talks with Mrs May
She is hoping to hammer out detailed UK proposals for future trade at a Cabinet ‘away day’ at Chequers next week.
But the PM was yesterday forced to deny her government is in meltdown as she faced a torrent of jibes in the Commons.
Business Secretary Greg Clark has publicly urged companies to keep pushing for a ‘soft’ Brexit.
By contrast, Jeremy Hunt has condemned the dire warning about the consequences of ‘no deal’ – from Airbus among others – as ‘inappropriate’ while Boris Johnson bluntly told a private reception ‘f*** business’.
Senior Tory MP Nigel Evans urged both factions to ‘put a sock in it’ over fears the public are getting exasperated by Tory infighting.
Suspicions have been raised that Mrs May will try to ‘bounce’ Brexiteers into concessions after sources confirmed the full Cabinet will attend the Chequers meeting on July 6.
Mrs May previously failed to get a customs ‘partnership’ plan past her smaller Brexit ‘War Cabinet’ and some MPs believe she is trying to bypass the group in favour of a forum where she has more Remain-minded allies.
One Cabinet source told MailOnline: ‘We haven’t seen an agenda yet. This is the moment she tries to bounce a deal through.’