UK PM May trying to soothe EU leaders as Brussels plans for hard Brexit - Reuters

As reported by Reuters. UK Prime Minister Theresa May spent her talking time at the EU leadership summit in Brussels trying to pep talk European Union leadership that a Brexit deal can still be made, even as the EU begins to gear up for serious preparations for a hard Brexit scenario.

Key quotes

"May was given a 15-minute slot to speak to the bloc’s other 27 leaders before they sat down to dinner without her and discussed preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit under which Britain leaves the European Union without a treaty to cushion the disruption to businesses across the continent.

But three days after talks stalled over the Irish border “backstop”, thwarting hopes of a deal at the summit, May arrived determined to stress that an accord was still on the cards. “We have shown we can do difficult deals together constructively. I remain confident of a good outcome,” she told the leaders, according to a British official. “The last stage will need courage, trust and leadership on both sides.”

It was far from the “decisive progress” the 27 had wanted and they agreed to call off — for now at least — a planned Nov. 17-18 summit that was to have inked an agreement. Instead, May gets some more weeks to resolve the domestic political woes which most EU leaders believe are the real obstacle to a deal. 

A month after May’s last meeting in Austria, when her rejection of EU proposals designed to avoid a revival of border tensions in Northern Ireland provoked angry reactions, her tone was much calmer, said EU officials who were present. “The tone was more relaxed than in Salzburg, undoubtedly. There is a message of goodwill,” said Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament. “But I did not perceive anything substantially new in terms of content ... The tone was of someone who wants to reach an agreement.” "