The EU left only a remote possibility that Britain could salvage a Brexit deal at a meeting between Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, expected to take place on Thursday.
European officials said they had gone as far as they could to explore a new British proposal to amend the withdrawal agreement struck last year but never ratified.
The sticking point is British territory Northern Ireland's place in the EU's Customs union.
Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, said Mr Johnson's latest proposal took a legal, permanent solution and turned into a temporary measure that was not acceptable to the EU.
"As I speak to you now, we're not on the point of envisioning and finding a deal," Mr Barnier told the European Parliament.
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, said he had not given up hope on negotiations, which resumed last week ahead of an October 31 deadline for the British exit from the EU.
"As it stands, we will remain in discussion with the United Kingdom on the terms of its departure and, personally, I don’t exclude a deal," Mr Juncker said.
"We, Michel and myself, are working on a deal. And we are not accepting this blame game that started in London."
Preparations are continuing for discussions between Mr Johnson and Mr Varadkar.
Officials said the meeting would take place in north-west England on Thursday and would be private, with no media presence.
Mr Johnson had cleared his diary to meet European leaders this week but meetings did not eventuate.
A call with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, was said to have ended badly on Tuesday after a "full and frank exchange of views" – diplomatic code for an argument.
Mr Varadkar has warned that the differences between the two sides could be too wide to bridge in such a short time.
"There are some fundamental objectives that haven't changed for the past three years and we need them guaranteed," he said.
"I think it is going to be very difficult to secure an agreement by next week, quite frankly.
"Essentially what the United Kingdom has done is repudiate the deal that we negotiated in good faith with prime minister [Theresa] May's government over two years and sort of put half of that now back on the table, saying, 'That's a concession'.
"And of course it isn't, really."
British Brexit Minister Steven Barclay is due to have lunch with Mr Barnier on Thursday to examine political options.
Both sides had been hoping for enough common ground to seal a deal at an EU summit on October 17.
Meanwhile, the British government is expected to call a special Saturday sitting of Parliament after that EU summit.
Parliament has only rarely met on Saturday, during the Falklands war in 1982 and the Suez crisis in 1956.
The session will be convened on October 19 regardless of the summit outcome.
As such it represents a leap in the dark. Mr Johnson could present a vote on leaving or remaining in the EU at a showdown with MPs who have blocked every other option.
The Bank of England said on Wednesday that lenders, insurers, brokers and the broader financial system were prepared for a worst-case departure.
In that case, UK assets would fall sharply along with the pound, but banks hold more than £1 trillion in liquid assets to meet obligations without fresh funding for many months, the central bank said.
Stock market traders said that companies were making special provision for round-the-clock deals if no agreement is locked in during the week starting on October 21.
Impediments to travel, transport and shipping are not expected to emerge until the week of November 4.
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
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15 years, 235 days old
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