UK and EU plan special summit to sign Brexit deal

The UK and the European Union are preparing for a special summit to sign the Brexit deal in November and the meeting could be announced within days, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

While negotiators still need to resolve key disagreements, the EU is readying to schedule a one-off gathering in mid-November so leaders can formally agree to the terms of the divorce, the person said.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will make her case to her EU counterparts at an informal meeting in Salzburg next Wednesday, before the other 27 leaders discuss how to respond among themselves. The plan for a special Brexit deal summit is likely to be unveiled during the course of the Salzburg gathering, two people said, with one suggesting the announcement could come even sooner.

Scheduling a summit to conclude the withdrawal negotiations would be a sign of growing confidence among the governments of Europe that an agreement on the U.K.’s exit is close. In recent days the pound has risen on more positive news of the prospects for reaching a settlement, after falling during the summer over fears that the negotiations are at risk of breaking down. The U.K. will leave the EU, with or without a deal, on March 29 next year.

The biggest obstacle still to be resolved in the talks is the question of how to avoid customs checks and police at the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, once the U.K. has left the bloc. This is seen as critical by both sides, but talks have been deadlocked for months.

EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier has sounded more hopeful of resolving the issue, offering to be flexible in his approach to agreeing the so-called backstop plan to avoid a hard border. Officials have detected some progress recently in talks on the backstop although the two sides remain far from finalizing a plan, according to one person.