Leo Varadkar has announced that Brexit talks are "making progress" but that the gap between the UK and EU is "still quite wide".
Negotiators are racing to conclude an agreement in time for a key EU summit on Thursday, but the Finnish prime minister warned on Tuesday that there was no "practical or legal way" to strike a deal by then. That was rejected by No10, although Boris Johnson's spokesman refused to put a deadline on talks reaching a conclusion.
Earlier, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, reportedly told EU27 ministers in Luxembourg that the latest UK proposals were “not yet good enough”. Barnier is said to have told ministers an agreement would have to be reached by the end of Tuesday.
It comes as Emmanuel Macron is said to have raised the possibility of a “technical extension” in a call with the PM. British negotiators, meanwhile, have put forward new proposals in bid to break the deadlock with the European Commission.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of events at Westminster.
Is Boris Johnson set to run out of time to forge a Brexit deal?
Finland’s Prime Minister Antti Rinne, whose government currently holds the rotating EU presidency, warned there was no “practical or legal way” to find an agreement before Thursday’s meeting of EU leaders in Brussels – while Spain’s foreign minister said “more time” could be needed.
Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy prime minister, also suggested on Monday that talks might have to “move into next week” though he said it was “too early to say”.
Brexit deal not possible before summit, EU leaders tell Boris Johnson
Finnish prime minister who chairs EU council says ‘no practical or legal’ way to get a deal before meeting
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has spoken to reporters as he arrived for at the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
“I will de-brief the EU 27 ministers as usual, and just to tell them where we are, where we stand today,” he said.
He said the work to secure a deal has been “intense”, adding: “Because even if an agreement will be difficult, more and more difficult to be frank, it is still possible this week.”
Barnier said: “Reaching an agreement is still possible. Obviously any agreement must work for everyone, the whole of the United Kingdom and the whole of the European Union.
“Let me add also that it is high time to turn good intentions into a legal text.”
British negotiators are set to put forward new proposals in bid to break the deadlock with their European Commission counterparts in Brussels, according to RTE.
The Irish media network’s Europe editor Tony Connelly said it’s “not clear yet if the proposals are a revised
version of the dual customs scheme … or whether they are something much different.”
It is believed the outlined of deal discussed by Boris Johnson and Leo Vardkar last week features a customs partnership or “dual customs scheme” that would ensure Northern Ireland is legally part of the UK’s customs territory, while in practice customs checks would take place at Irish Sea ports.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said government plans to make voters produce photo ID at polling stations are “clearly discriminatory” and will disproportionately affect ethnic minorities.
All the details here.
Jeremy Corbyn says voter ID plans will discriminate against ethnic minorities
‘These plans are clearly discriminatory and a blatant attempt by the Tories to suppress voters,’ says Labour leaderEnvironment minister Zac Goldsmith has rejected the idea of any extension to seal a Brexit deal in the weeks after 31 October.
European diplomats have been discussing a possible emergency EU summit later this month forge a final deal. If the outline of deal is in place, there is a speculation Boris Johnson might need a short “technical” extension beyond 31 October to allow for the final details to be arranged.
“I don’t think an extension is necessary. If both sides wish to secure a deal, a deal can be secured,” Goldsmith told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“It’s a matter of political will. Where there’s a will there is a way, and that has never been more true than in the case of Brexit.
“And I think it is really important that we don't continue to extend and extend and extend which is what we’ve been doing for the last few years, because there are issues of trust there.
“But even beyond issues of trust I don’t think it serves our interest as a country to be in a permanent state of division and paralysis.
“We’ve got to get this done and October the 31st matters.”
The BBC’s Adam Fleming says UK negotiators shared new proposals with their EU counterparts yesterday.
Nathalie Loiseau, a French politician from Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! party, was asked if she could see a scenario in which the broad outline of an agreement was reached, with legal texts to come later.
“An agreement can only be detailed, credible, sustainable. And we have to have clarity on every single aspect,” she told the Today programme, adding that it “has to be able to last”.
She was also asked about talk of a new UK proposals which reportedly acknowledges some of the EU’s concerns about the new customs arrangement, she said: “This is a rumour, and we have dozens of rumours every day. A lot of leaks and a very hectic way of communicating.”
Loiseau said there is “a lot of goodwill and a lot of caution at the same time”.
On the issue of the backstop agreed by Theresa May, she said it was “the result of two years of hard work and goodwill”.
She added: “You don’t replace it in one minute. This is a very serious issue. It has consequences on lives of many people on both sides of the Channel. So goodwill, yes, but to rush to a deal in any circumstance, certainly not.”
Former Tory leadership contender Jeremy Hunt has also been asked about the idea of a short “technical” extension to the 31 October deadline to finalise a Brexit deal.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult to get a deal with all the legislation through Parliament by October 31, which is why I didn’t want to offer that guarantee during the leadership campaign in the summer, but I still hope it happens.
“And I still think, for the first time, if there is a deal, and, frankly, if we needed an extension of a few days, I think people would just feel the end is in sight and that's the important thing.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, has said he believes Boris Johnson can get a deal through parliament if an agreement is reached with the EU.
“The votes are now there for a deal,” he told LBC.
He suggested the agreement emerging was more than “Mrs May’s deal with a cherry on top … I don’t like cherries very much.”
Rees-Mogg also suggested he would “surprised” if the DUP weren’t on board with Johnson’s Brexit proposals.
Yet the DUP’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson, when asked about Rees-Mogg’s weekend comments on “eating his own words” by backing a customs partnership he once branded “completely cretinous”, said he was not similarly flexible.
Wilson said yesterday: “Whatever appetite he has for his own words or whatever, we will not be eating our own words. Our position is clear, the government knows what our position is and we will not be dining from a different menu.”
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has arrived for talks in Luxembourg – so it looks as though the meeting of EU27 ministers will become the EU28 again for a brief time today.
“The talks are ongoing. We need to give them space to proceed,” Barclay told reporters.
“But detailed conversations are under way and a deal is still very possible.”
Does Boris Johnson have even less time than he thought?
The Dutch foreign affairs minister Stef Blok did not sound as optimistic as others as he arrived for the EU27 meeting in Luxembourg this morning.
There are just five days to go until the last major demonstration in favour of a second referendum. Hundreds of thousands are expected to march on the streets of London on Saturday 19 October to demand a Final Say vote on the terms of any deal secured by Boris Johnson.
The People’s Vote campaign has smashed its target of raising half a million pounds and more than 170 coaches have been hired to transport people to London.
All the details here.
Five days until last Final Say Brexit march ahead of October 31 deadline
Demonstration on October 19 could be ‘one of the biggest Britain has ever seen,’ says Lord Hain
BREAKING: The EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has told the 27 member states staying in the bloc after Brexit that the latest UK proposals were not yet good enough, three diplomatic sources have told Reuters.
Barnier also said he needed a legal text agreed by the end of Tuesday to recommend that a summit of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday approves any deal, the sources also said.
Otherwise, he would likely recommend that more talks with Britain are needed past the summit later this week, the sources added.
Former cabinet minister David Gauke, who was stripped of the Tory whip for rebelling over no-deal, said that a delay beyond the 31 October Brexit deadline may be needed to ensure that parliament has the time to scrutinise any deal brought back from Brussels.
Echoing comments made earlier by Jeremy Hunt, Gauke told Sky News: “If he has got a deal he has brought back, I would be supportive … (but) I wouldn’t want us to be in a position where we vote for a deal on Saturday and then something goes wrong in the next 12 days and then we crash out without a deal on 31 October. We need to make sure we are not in that position.
“I am not wanting a delay for the sake of a delay. I want to make sure that we get all the legislation through before we leave the EU.”
Gauke warned that the focus on Northern Ireland should not divert attention from the danger that an eventual deal might be bad for England, Scotland and Wales.
“What I don’t want is for us to be in a position where we get a deal which addresses the issue in Northern Ireland, which has been the thing holding up a deal being reached, and then we find ourselves in the position that Great Britain - England, Scotland and Wales - are left with a relationship that looks very much like no-deal,” he said.
“Parliament will need to be reassured that we are not left with something that is a deal in name only.”
More on that deadline set by EU negotiator Michel Barnier – who told EU27 ministers an agreement over legal text would have to be reached by the end of Tuesday.
“There is a deadline today evening to agree on legal text,” one senior EU diplomat told Reuters.
Another told the agency there was no formal deadline, but that Barnier explained to the room he needed agreement on the legal text by the end of the day to be able to tell EU diplomats due to meet in Brussels on Wednesday that his recommendation was that the Thursday-Friday leaders’ summit approves a deal.
“The work continues, there is still a possibility for a deal,” a third EU diplomat said.
According to the BBC’s Adam Fleming, journalists are staring at Barnier like he’s “an exotic animal”, as he sits with his team in the canteen.
Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator whose every word and gesture is subject to intense scrutiny, has now tweeted about his meeting with the EU27 in Luxembourg.
Ireland’s deputy premier and foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney has been speaking to reporters following the EU27 meeting in Luxembourg.
He said a deal was “difficult but doable” and made a cryptic remark suggesting he sees the glass neither half full nor half empty.
More from the Irish deputy premier Simon Coveney, who has said it’s possible talks will continue into next week.
“If the deal can’t be done today or tomorrow in advance of the summit then the leaders will have to decide what kind of mandate to give Michel Barnier, and of course the UK will have to decide as well as to how to proceed,” he said.
“If there is to be a further meeting of EU leaders, that will be a matter for leaders themselves to decide at the summit, but at the moment there are no plans for an emergency summit at the end of next week.”
European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva has also been speaking about the next steps forward.
She said: “Technical level discussions are continuing with the UK team today and actually as we speak. Talks are constructive but a lot of work remains to be done.”
On the issue of potential new proposals, she said: "I think it’s natural that discussions need to be prepared, but we will not be providing a running commentary on any documents being discussed.”
Asked if the two sides will continue to negotiate on Wednesday if a legal text is not brought forward by Tuesday night, Andreeva said: “We are working towards the European Council which is on Thursday, as you know, so in that respect every day and every hour counts.”
