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Andrew Sparrow (now); and Kate Lyons (earlier)

EU chief Donald Tusk says 'most difficult' Brexit issues remain unresolved – Politics live

Angela Merkel and Theresa May at the European council meeting in Brussels.
Angela Merkel and Theresa May at the European council meeting in Brussels. Photograph: Salerno/Euc/Ropi/REX/Shutterstock

Afternoon summary

  • EU leaders have told Theresa May that she can no longer delay spelling out what she wants from Brexit. In a sign of the exasperation felt at what is perceived as UK dithering, Donald Tusk, president of the European council, told journalists at the end-of-summit press conference.

There is a great deal of work ahead, and the most difficult tasks are still unresolved. If we want to reach a deal in October we need quick progress. This is the last call to lay the cards on the table.

EU leaders also set out their demand for more clarity from London in a four-paragraph statement on Brexit agreed very quickly on Friday morning, after May had left Brussels to return to London. (See 11.58am.) In truth, they were not expecting progress at this two-day summit, which was dominated by the debate on migration. But May is now under intense pressure to ensure that the white paper on Brexit due to be published within the next fortnight provides a basis for kickstarting negotiations on the future trade relationship.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Earlier, in my Danny Dyer post (see 3.16pm), I said that Theresa May does not believe Brexit will be good for the country. The Conservative pro-European Dominic Grieve is the guest on Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast this week and he makes exactly the same point.

Varadkar says EU won't let UK remain in single market for goods but not for services

And according to RTE’s Tony Connelly, the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar told journalists at the end of the summit that the Irish backstop could not be something that applied to the UK as a whole.

Varadkar also said the EU would not agree to let the UK remain effectively in the single market for goods but not for services.

And this is from my colleague Daniel Boffey.

Updated

According to the Telegraph’s Dia Chakravarty, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, did not rule out the idea of Brexit being delayed when asked about it at his end-of-summit press conference.

The Telegraph’s Europe editor, Peter Foster, has posted an excellent thread on Twitter about the Brexit state of play after this week’s EU summit. It starts here.

Was Danny Dyer right to say David Cameron should have stayed on after the EU referendum?

Danny Dyer’s rant about David Cameron (see 12.41pm) has gone viral on social media. For the most part that is probably because people share his exasperation with Brexit, and enjoyed his withering assessment of our former prime minister (the second “twat” is generally agreed to be glorious).

But Dyer was also making a substantive argument; that, having called the EU referendum and lost it, it was wrong for Cameron to resign when he should stayed on as prime minister to sort things out.

Has Dyer got a point? Or is he being naive?

The conventional wisdom at the time, and probably still now, is that, having called the referendum and lost, Cameron had to go. That is what happened to Alex Salmond, the Scottish first minister, two years earlier when he lost the independence referendum. Before the EU referendum Cameron repeatedly said that he would not resign if leave won, but I don’t think any of his colleagues, or any political journalists, believed him and at a 4am meeting in Downing Street on the night of the referendum Cameron told his close aides he would have to quit because he did not think staying on (the Dyer option) was plausible.

But counterfactuals are always worth exploring, and so what would have happened if he had announced that he was going to stay on as prime minister - perhaps just to oversee Brexit and to resign once the UK was out?

One of Cameron’s objections at the time was that he would have been overseeing a policy he did not believe in. But Theresa May does not believe Brexit will be good for the country either. When challenged on this, her default position is to say that this is what the country wants. And a majority of MPs are also voting through legislation that they don’t believe will be in the country’s best interests. Two years on from the referendum it has turned out (regrettably) that implementing policy without believing in it is easier than Cameron assumed.

Another assumption is that Conservative MPs would have forced Cameron out anyway. But it is often forgotten that on the night of the referendum 84 pro-Brexit Tory MPs signed an open letter saying Cameron should stay on as prime minister even if leave won. (It was probably the most short-lived and unsuccessful campaign ever mounted by Conservative backbenchers.) And, remember, in the parliamentary Conservative party the pro-Brexit MPs were in a minority. A majority voted remain, like Cameron. If Cameron had tried to stay on, he would undoubtedly have been a lame duck. But MPs with leadership ambitions like serving under lame duck PMs (they have been doing it for the last year anyway), and a two or three-year extension of the Cameron premiership might have suited those who wanted to see a Brexiter succeed him before the next election.

But would the public have put up with it? A poll in May 2016 found that 58% of the public thought, if Cameron lost, he would have to resign within a year. But people can stay on for years as prime minister when the public want them to go. It is only at general election time that that position becomes untenable, and in June 2016 Cameron was four years away from one of those.

And another argument is that, if Cameron had tried to have stayed on, he would have had zero negotiating credibility with Brussels. But, looking at the current state of negotiations, does anyone really think he would have less influence with his EU partners than Theresa May?

If Cameron had tried to remain as PM, we know what he would have done. He said so in the Commons on the Monday after the result. “I think it is in all our interests, whatever the eventual decision, to make sure we are as close as possible economically to our friends and partners in the European Union,” he told MPs. In this alternative reality, he would now be negotiating a very soft Brexit, Norway-style Brexit. Jacob Rees-Mogg would hate it, but the Moggites are in a minority amongst Tory MPs and a Cameron Brexit is closer to what the Commons as a whole wants than the hard Brexit May originally proposed.

Could all this ever have happened? We’ll never know, and it still seems a unlikely. But thinking about it now, it seems a lot less impossible than we all thought on the morning of 24 June 2016. I think Dyer’s got a point.

Updated

Ipsos MORI has published its June 2018 Political Monitor (pdf) today, with a stack of interesting polling, particularly on satisfaction with party leaders.

But there is also some Brexit polling, and these figures are striking. They suggest that confidence that Theresa May will get a good deal is at its lowest since article 50 was triggered. Those not confident that May will get a good deal outnumber those who are confident about it by more than two to one.

Confidence in May to get a good Brexit deal
Confidence in May to get a good Brexit deal Photograph: Ipsos MORI

The Tusk/Juncker/Borissov press conference is now over. There were no questions about Brexit, and only a brief mention of it in the opening statements, from Tusk. (See 2.09pm.)

Merkel says migration deal is 'not the end of the road'

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has also been holding a press conference. Here are some of the highlights. The tweets are from the Economist’s Tom Nuttall and the BBC’s Katya Adler.

Asked about relations with President Trump, Juncker says he is going to Washington soon. He mentions his “friend Donald”. But he says he does not like Trump’s attempts to divide Europe.

There is fresh evidence of that in the Washington Post today.

Tusk says he does not want to “spoil the good atmosphere” by saying any more.

The opening statements are over. Tusk, Juncker and Boyko Borissov, the Bulgarian prime minister (who is also on the panel - the Bulgarians have the presidency of the EU) are now taking questions.

The first question is about the achievements of the Bulgarian presidency. Juncker says what was good about them was that they accepted the commission’s proposals.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, is speaking now.

He starts by praising the job done by the Bulgarian presidency.

Tusk says 'most difficult' issues in Brexit talks remain unresolved

Tusk now talks about what was agreed this morning.

There was an agreement on banking and on the stability fund, he says.

On Brexit, he says the EU 27 have taken note of what has been achieved so far.

However, there is a great deal of work ahead and the most difficult tasks are still unresolved.

He says “quick progress” is needed in order to reach a deal by the time of the October summit.

This is the last call to lay the cards on the table.

Updated

EU summit press conference

We are now getting the final end-of-summit press conference.

Donald Tusk, the European council president, starts.

He says, on migration, it is too “far too early to talk about a success”.

He summarises the proposals that were agreed. (See 7.12pm.)

Updated

Lord Bridges, the remain voter who was a Brexit minister until he resigned after the general election, has written an open letter to cabinet ministers in the Evening Standard urging them to unite behind a softish Brexit that would effectively seek the UK in the single market for goods. Here is an excerpt.

In essence we should remain close to the EU on goods and agriculture but have independence to forge our destiny on services — which are 80 per cent of the economy.

I suggest you commit the UK to remaining completely aligned to EU regulations and standards covering goods and (note) agricultural products. This — together with zero tariffs and trusted trade schemes (to deal with rules of origin) — would help minimise friction in trade. And, by covering agricultural products, you would help address the issue of the Irish border.

Pledge to remain convergent on data- sharing, and recognise legal contracts and professional qualifications. Where appropriate, seek to remain party to EU agencies that underpin critical areas related to security, trade and infrastructure — such as pharmaceuticals and aviation. If necessary, remain under the European court of justice’s jurisdiction.

At the summit EU leaders agreed to open membership talks with Macedonia and Albania by the end of 2019, if both Balkan aspirants show enough progress in judicial and anti-corruption reforms, Reuters reports. In a summit statement on Friday, EU leaders said they endorsed an agreement on Tuesday among the bloc’s Europe ministers to review Albania and Macedonia’s progress in June 2019 and open talks at a conference by the end of next year. While there was no debate on the issue by leaders at their two-day summit in Brussels, the statement serves to cement a compromise among EU governments to keep alive the EU membership hopes of the Western Balkan countries but seek further reforms before talks can formally start.

The Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat told journalists that EU’s conclusions on Brexit (see 11.58am) were agreed in just one minute, showing EU leaders “can still work together”, despite the lengthy row over migration.

This morning was, to my knowledge, the first time the actor Danny Dyer received a mention at the regular No 10 briefing. Theresa May’s spokeswoman was asked if the PM agrees with his characterisation of Brexit, on ITV last night, as a “mad riddle” understood by no one. May does not, we were told.

It was also probably the first lobby briefing where it was asked whether May believes David Cameron is “a twat” - Dyer’s vehement view on the former prime minister.

“I presume that’s not sentiments the prime minister shares?” came the question. The response: “She hasn’t seen it and so I haven’t asked her about it.”

Updated

Here’s a dose of reality from Emma Bonino, the former foreign minister and Italian senator, who is one of few voices in Italy who speaks in support of migrants.

Speaking to the Guardian by phone as she flipped through the pages of the Brussels migration agreement (pdf), Bonino sighed several times and said the so-called deal left one of the biggest questions unanswered: namely how NGOs might continue to operate in the Mediterranean.

“I have the text in front of me. I don’t understand what they mean, frankly speaking,” she told the Guardian.

The only sections of the agreement that mention rescues at sea only vaguely say that EU partners will stand by Italy. It also states that vessels should not interfere with the Libyan coastguard, whose treatment of migrants has widely been reported to violate human rights rules.

Labour veteran Tony Lloyd, now shadow Northern Ireland secretary, has welcomed the decision to reconvene the British Irish intergovernmental conference on 25 July. (See 8.53am.)

However while Brexit may come up at the talks, the institution is a legacy of the Good Friday agreement, and it is more likely to focus on the need to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Lloyd said:

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for this in a recent speech at Queen’s University Belfast, as have I during multiple engagements with the secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

This highlights the growing need for the secretary of state to bring together all Northern Ireland political parties to negotiate a return to devolved government. It is simply not good enough to wait until the autumn. Northern Ireland deserves leadership not Tory inaction.

Jeremy Corbyn is using one of his periodic day trips to Scotland to boost Labour’s effort to capitalise on increasing strains and pressures in the health service, by claiming the NHS as a Labour creation.

Labour’s support in Scotland has been slipping in recent polls back down to as low as 22%, down some six points from its recent high last December, and Scottish Labour is hoping to leverage this year’s 70th anniversary of the foundation of the NHS into greater public support.

Corbyn is due to visit St John’s hospital in Livingston with local MSP Neil Findlay, where the local health board controversially closed down a children’s ward last year. In an advance text, he promoted Labour plans to boost public spending by £3bn in Scotland if it wins a UK general election.

“The NHS is Labour’s proudest achievement. NHS values - everybody looking after everybody else - are Labour values,” he is due to say.

A series of polls putting them trailing the Tories has alarmed Labour strategists. It suggests the modest Corbyn bounce last year was shortlived, so converting public dissatisfaction with the NHS is a key strategic priority. “We want to own the NHS,” said one official.

Nicola Sturgeon made that task somewhat harder by appointing Jeane Freeman, a former Labour special adviser, as her new health secretary this week. Tough and experienced, Freeman is likely to prove a stronger opponent for Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour’s health spokesman, than her predecessor Shona Robison.

Jeremy Corbyn on ITV’s Good Evening Britain last night. For some reason, he was on with Pamela Anderson.
Jeremy Corbyn on ITV’s Good Evening Britain last night. For some reason, he was on with Pamela Anderson. Photograph: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

EU summit conclusions on Brexit - Full text and analysis

Here are the EU summit conclusions on Brexit (pdf) in full, with analysis.

In light of the state of play presented by the union negotiator, the European Council welcomes the further progress made on parts of the legal text of the withdrawal agreement.

Analysis: This is the first sentence. Last week the EU and the UK produced a paper (pdf) highlighting the progress made in talks since March. On the big issues the talks have been stalled, but there has been some routine progress on technical matters and this seems a polite way of saying it is not all bad.

The European council takes note, however, that other important aspects still need to be agreed, including the territorial application of the withdrawal agreement, notably as regards Gibraltar.

Analysis: Here’s the “but”. The second sentence of the opening paragraph says don’t read too much into the first sentence. And the reference to Gibraltar is important because EU negotiating guidelines agreed in April last year said that for any post-Brexit deal to apply to the territory of Gibraltar, Spain would have to agree. In other words, the EU could not agree it by a qualified majority against Spain’s wishes - a theoretical possibility, but an unlikely one, because the EU wants to agree the final deal unanimously anyway.

The European council expresses its concern that no substantial progress has yet been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland/Northern Ireland.

Analysis: This is the key message. The Irish government wanted substantial progress on the Irish backstop issue by this summit, and that has not materialised. But the EU is saying this is now the key problem.

It recalls the commitments undertaken by the UK in this respect in December 2017 and March 2018, and insists on the need for intensified efforts so that the withdrawal agreement, including its provisions on transition, can be concluded as soon as possible in order to come into effect on the date of withdrawal. It recalls that negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full.

Analysis: This is a diplomatic way of telling Theresa May that she can’t wriggle out of the promises made in paragraph 49 of the joint report agreed in December. The big problem, of course, is that the promises in paragraph 49 (no hard border), in paragraph 50 (no effective internal UK border down the middle of the Irish sea), and May’s claim that UK must leave the single market and the customs union are incompatible (as the Centre for European Reform argued in its “Irish trilemma” paper).

Work must also be accelerated with a view to preparing a political declaration on the framework for the future relationship. This requires further clarity as well as realistic and workable proposals from the UK as regards its position on the future relationship.

Analysis: The political declaration is the document that will be published alongside the withdrawal agreement in the autumn giving the outlines of a future trade agreement. We’ve got to get on with it, the EU is saying. But it is also politely blaming the UK for the delay, saying it needs to know what the UK wants. The call for “realistic and workable” proposals in the white paper echoes exactly what Michel Barnier said earlier. (See 9.58am.) You might think that having to spell out the importance of proposals being “realistic and workable” ought to be unnecessary; the fact that this line has been included suggests that EU leaders are not confident yet that May has managed to see off all the hardliners in her cabinet less tethered to what’s practical.

The European council reconfirms the principles set out in its guidelines and the position defined in March 2018. The European council recalls that if the UK positions were to evolve, the Union will be prepared to reconsider its offer in accordance with the principles stated in the guidelines of 29 April and 15 December 2017 as well as of 23 March 2018.

Analysis: This is the EU telling Theresa May that, if she were to relax her red lines (especially on the European court of justice and free movement, where she wants the UK to be unencumbered by both), it could substantially improve its own offer. EU leaders have been saying this for some time. If, even at this relatively late stage, they are still doing so, that suggests they haven’t yet given up hope that May could rethink her red relines.

The European council renews its call upon member states, union institutions and all stakeholders to step up their work on preparedness at all levels and for all outcomes.

Analysis: This is the EU warning government and business in Europe to prepare for the possibility of a no deal Brexit. It is not intended to be overtly alarmist. But it does seem designed to jolt people out a sense of complacency. A no deal Brexit remains unlikely, but it is by no means impossible.

Updated

EU leaders express concern that 'no substantial progress' has been made on Irish backstop

The EU has agreed its conclusions on Brexit.

This is from Donald Tusk, the European council president.

And here is a link.

The statement runs to only four paragraphs. The key sentence is probably his one.

The European council expresses its concern that no substantial progress has yet been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland/Northern Ireland.

I will post a full summary shortly.

And, while we’re on the subject of growth, there is some modest good news for the government from the Office for National Statistics. The ONS has this morning issued its revised estimate for growth in the first three months of 2018, and it is now put at 0.2%, not 0.1% as in the previous estimate.

In other words, growth is twice as high as originally thought. But 0.2% is still, in historic terms, pretty feeble.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, says he wants “workable and realistic” proposals from the UK in the white paper due to be published the week after next. (See 9.58am.) But, according to Politico Europe’s Jack Blanchard, in his London Playbook morning briefing, the white paper won’t cover immigration. He writes:

A senior government source tells Playbook there will be no immigration policy in the Brexit white paper next month. “That’s coming in September.”

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg thinks it could come even later.

The MAC is the migration advisory committee, which is due to report on the UK’s post-Brexit migration needs later this year. An interim report published in March said cutting EU immigration after Brexit would probably lead to lower growth.

Manfred Weber, a key Angela Merkel ally in Brussels, who is the leader of the European parliament’s largest party, the European People’s party, welcomed last night’s agreement. In a statement he said:

The EU summit took a big step towards a better migration policy. Europe stands for humanity towards people in need, determination in the protection of external borders and in the fight against illegal migration, as well as for solidarity with one another.

It is good that the EPP’s demand for at least 10,000 Frontex officials has been taken on board. The EU is showing its ability to act. This path must now be pursued resolutely and swiftly by the new Austrian presidency. The policy of responsibility and reason prevails.

The extension of Russian sanctions is also a clear signal. Europe remains united, determined and strong. Only together and from a position of strength can we be successful.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said as he arrived at the summit he was pleased with the outcome of the extended talks last night, and that the leaders had reinforced the principles of protecting Europe’s borders and solidarity.

He said he had asked the European commission to flesh out the concept of the control centres. He went on:

People thought it was totally impossible to deliver an agreement yesterday. We found an agreement. And we decided altogether to work for European cooperation and to have a cooperative approach. And I think that’s a very positive outcome.

Second, we decided to have a holistic approach, speaking about third countries, external borders and internal channels. And I think that’s a second, very positive outcome.

We know our differences but on the basis of the agreements we decided altogether yesterday, it is according to me the right balance between responsibility and solidarity.

Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron Photograph: Emmanuel Macron/EU

The man who is said to be the real prime minister of Italy, the interior minister Matteo Salvini, has said of last night’s summit conclusions on Italian radio this morning:

I won’t trust words, let’s see what concrete commitments are [taken].

Sounds a bit ominous.

Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini Photograph: Simona Granati - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

There has been increasing speculation that Theresa May will propose a Brexit outcome that would effectively keep the UK in the single market for goods. If she does, according to Business Insider’s Adam Payne, the EU will say no.

'Hard landing' for UK after Brexit 'on the table', says Lithuanian president

Dalia Grybauskaitė, the president of Lithuania, told reporters in Brussels that it was clear that a “hard landing” for the UK was “on the table” but that, even should the talks breakdown, she was confident that the UK would continue to be a close security partner.

She added that it was “in nobody’s interests” to have a no deal.

The Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite, with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker at the EU summit
The Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite, with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker at the EU summit Photograph: Julien Warnand/AFP/Getty Images

Barnier says 'huge and serious' gap remains between UK and EU demands on Brexit, especially on Ireland

This is what Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said in full when he spoke to reporters as he arrived for this morning’s meeting.

On Brexit, we have made progress, but huge and serious divergence remains, in particular on Ireland and Northern Ireland.

After Brexit, we want, the EU want, an EU-UK ambitious partnership, on trade as well as on security.

But we have to base this partnership on our values and principles, respecting also the UK red lines. That means for us integrity of the single market, indivisibility of the four freedoms, autonomy of the decision making of the EU, and protection and respect of the fundamental rights of EU citizens. And this point is key for our future cooperation and security.

Now we are waiting for the UK white paper. And I hope it will contain workable and realistic proposals.

But let me mention once again that time is very short. We want a deal, and are working for a deal, but time is short and I’m ready to invite the UK delegation to come back and present next Monday.

He took just one question, about citizens’ rights, and said that this was a matter where agreement had already been reached in the draft treaty.

So, in news terms, that means:

  • Barnier said a “huge and serious” gap remains between UK and EU demands on Brexit, especially on Ireland.
  • He said the EU was still waiting to hear what the UK wants.
  • He urged May to ensure that the plans in her white paper are “workable and realistic”.
  • He stressed that there was little time in which to reach a deal.
Michel Barnier speaking to reporters this morning.
Michel Barnier speaking to reporters this morning. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Barnier says EU still waiting to hear what UK wants

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is speaking to journalists at the EU summit.

He says there has been progress in the talks. But there are huge problems to be solved on Ireland, he says.

He insists that EU remains committed to its red lines, stressing the integrity of the four freedoms.

He says the EU is still waiting to hear what the UK wants.

And he ends by saying there is not much time.

Time is very short.

I’ll post the quotes in a moment.

Matt Hancock says Tories must be party of business 'or we are nothing'

On the Today programme this morning Matt Hancock, the culture minister, was asked about next week’s meeting at Chequers, where the cabinet will be asked to agree what’s in the government white paper on Brexit being published the following week.

In the interview Hancock clearly aligned himself with Greg Clark, the business secretary, and Theresa May on the subject of whether the party should be listening to the voice of business, against figures like Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, and Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader, who have all in one way or another been suggesting the opposite. Hancock said:

I think that the Conservative party is the party of business and of prosperity, or we are nothing.

Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, at the ‘Michael Jackson: On The Wall’ exhibition in London earlier this week.
Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, at the ‘Michael Jackson: On The Wall’ exhibition in London earlier this week. Photograph: Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock

Leaders from the EU 27 are now arriving (slightly later than planned, after yesterday’s virtual all-nighter) for today’s talks. You can watch a live feed of the arrivals here.

They are talking about Brexit. Theresa May, of course, isn’t invited to these discussions, and she is on her way home.

Here is the full text (pdf) of what was agreed at the European council yesterday. It is mostly about migration and it does not refer to Brexit.

But there was a Brexit-related decision yesterday. The council agreed to re-allocated some of the 73 seats in the European parliament that will become vacant when the UK leaves. Most will go, cutting the size of the parliament from 751 MEPs to 705 MEPs, but 27 will be reallocated. According to the commission, this is how they will be divided up.

The 27 seats will be distributed to France (+5), Spain (+5), Italy (+3), Netherlands (+3), Ireland (+2), Sweden (+1), Austria (+1), Denmark (+1), Finland (+1), Slovakia (+1), Croatia (+1), Estonia (+1), Poland (+1) and Romania (+1). No member state will lose any seats.

The BBC’s Adam Fleming has more on what the EU leaders agreed on migration.

Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has welcomed the migration deal, saying the EU is “starting to head in the right direction”. He tweeted:

It was important for us to reach an agreement and that’s what we did in the European council in the early hours of today. The European Union is starting to head in the right direction: giving a European perspective on the European challenge that is migration.

Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister
Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Dublin planning for 'best' Brexit outcome but also preparing for 'worst', says Europe minister

In Ireland the Europe minister, Helen McEntee, said the Irish government is planning for the “best outcome” but “preparing for the worst” following Brexit.

It was agreed that a meeting of the British-Irish intergovernmental conference will take place on 25 July. It will be the first time the bilateral platform for cooperation on all levels has happened since 2007.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar held a 30 minute meeting with Theresa May on the margins of the Brussels summit last night.

McEntee told RTE’s Morning Ireland that Varadkar highlighted concern there was no progress on the issued and that there would be no deal in October.

But, judging by pictures from the meeting, the mood wasn’t all grim, and the pair seem to have found something to laugh about. (Perhaps it was a joke from McEntee, who was in the room, although in this shot we’ve only got her knees.)

Leo Varadkar meeting Theresa May at the EU summit last night.
Leo Varadkar meeting Theresa May at the EU summit last night.
 Photograph: YVES HERMAN / POOL/EPA

Updated

May calls for Brexit talks to intensify as she leaves EU summit

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Kate.

The EU summit talks last night focused on migration, but Brexit has not vanished as a problem and, as she left the meeting in the early hours of the morning, Theresa May said that she wanted to see the Brexit talks accelerate and intensify. She told reporters:

We are going to be publishing our white paper shortly and I want to see the negotiations accelerating and intensifying thereafter.

And on the subject of the migration conclusions, she said:

We have come to positive conclusions, a lot of them around what the United Kingdom has been encouraging for some time, which is taking more action upstream in countries of origin so that we can ensure that people aren’t having to make and aren’t making these very dangerous journeys, often travelling many miles, often at the hands of the people smugglers and making the dangerous trips across the Mediterranean where we still see some people dying.

This is from Gavin Barwell, May’s chief of staff.

Matteo Salvini says at least Italy stood up to EU

In an early morning radio show Matteo Salvini, the Italian interior minister, adopted a “wait and see” approach.

He said real progress had been made on protection of the EU’s external borders, and investment in Africa. But he refrained from making the same bold pronouncements that the summit had been a big success for Italy.

Instead, he focused on the role he claimed his government had played in setting the agenda, and alleged it was the first time that Italy had been willing to stand up to its EU partners, especially France, in discussions that lasted well into the morning.

It is unlikely that Salvini would attack the deal while the ink was still drying on the agreement: he is a major player in the far-right/populist alliance and any major criticism would provoke accusations that he was creating a rift.

But he also emphasised that ports in Italy would remain closed to NGOs who had rescued migrants, signalling he was not willing to backdown from a position that has created tensions with other EU partners and provoked accusations that Italy was violating international humanitarian laws.

Salvini’s hardline rhetoric and actions have won him popularity in Italy, and he has seen a big jump in his approval numbers since the 4 March election. He is unlikely to tone down his demonisation of NGOs and migrants now.

On Friday morning, Günther Oettinger, the European commissioner for budget and human resources, hailed the outcome of the summit as a “genuine breakthrough”.

“I believe there are good reasons why the CSU will recognise this as big step in the right direction”, Oettinger told German radio. “We in the CDU will recognise it as a big step in the right direction”.

Former Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz said the agreement was a “pragmatic” decision which should convince interior minister Horst Seehofer, who has threatened to start turning away migrants already registered in other EU states at German borders should Merkel not come up with a European solution by the start of July.

Schulz, a former president of the European parliament, bemoaned that the summit’s joint agreements came far too late: “What has been concluded now should have been concluded years ago”.

He predicted that a “coalition of the willing”, consisting at least of Germany, France and Spain, would set up bigger processing centres for asylum seekers inside the EU, and called for more money from the EU budget for those who volunteer to take an active role.

Updated

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte addressing the press at the end of the first day of discussions.
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte addressing the press at the end of the first day of discussions. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Jennifer Rankin has this nice insight into how the discussions on immigration between EU leaders – which went on until after 4:30 this morning – unfolded:

In an attempt to force the issue, Italy’s Conte was accused of hijacking the summit when he threatened to block the entire summit conclusions unless he received more help.

“I am a law professor,” Conte told his fellow leaders, protesting about the EU’s working methods, promoting an unusual exchange, according to a source. The Bulgarian prime minister, Boyko Borissov, replied: “Well, I used to be a fireman and this is not how you negotiate.” Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, added that he used to be a welder and he did not agree with the Italian’s way of making his point either.

Her full story is here.

Updated

More from Stephanie Kirchgaessner, about the response from Salvini, who is speaking on radio about the closure of Italian ports to rescue boats on the Mediterranean.

Summit schedule

We have a schedule for today’s events (all in UK time):

9am UK time (delayed due to last night’s late end): Leaders arrive giving reaction to their long dinner, which ended with conclusions on migration, enlargement and defence at 4.47am.

10am: Leaders gather to talk about Brexit and sign off on a statement – they are expected to talk about the Irish border, what happens if there’s no deal, and more.

12pm: Leaders meet to discuss the eurozone.

1.30pm: A joint press conference with Tusk, Juncker and some leaders of European governments.

Updated

Italian PM Giuseppe Conte welcomes migration deal as breakthrough

In Italy, the deal was hailed by prime minister Giuseppe Conte as a breakthrough.

Conte said that Italy was no longer alone in dealing with the crisis on its shores. But there was – so far – no reaction on social media from the man who may matter more, the far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini.

In the last 24-hours, Salvini has repeated his call for NGOs to stop saving migrants in the Mediterranean, using the hashtag #stopinvasione, stop the invasion.

Updated

Angela Merkel has come under pressure about her immigration policies from Germany’s hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer (right).
Angela Merkel has come under pressure about her immigration policies from Germany’s hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer (right). Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

The Bavarian CSU, the sister party to Merkel’s CDU which had initially created the pressure for the chancellor to emerge from the summit with a new deal on migration, had already quietly switched to de-escalation mode before the German delegation headed to Brussels.

Interior minister Horst Seehofer told German TV on Wednesday that while the situation was serious, the conversations that had been started were “quite sensible”. On Thursday night, former Bavarian state premier Edmund Stoiber said in a talkshow: “I am confident after hearing what is coming out of Brussels. I believe that a way can still be found”.

Heads of the CSU and the CDU will meet separately in Munich and Berlin on Sunday at 3pm to debate the outcome of the Brussels summit.

Updated

What EU leaders have agreed on migration

The BBC have tweeted photographs of the new European Commission conclusion on migration. The conclusion includes a section on rescue boats, believed to be included as a concession to Italy (see the bolded text), and an interesting paragraph declaring the establishment of “controlled centres set up in Member States ... where rapid and secure processing would occur” of those who are rescued from the sea.

Here’s some of the text of the conclusion reached today:

As regards the central Mediterranean route, efforts to stop smugglers operating out of Libya or elsewhere should be further intensified. The EU will continue to stand by Italy and other frontline member states in this respect. It will step up its support for the Sahel region, the Libyan Coastguard, coastal and Southern communities, humane reception conditions, voluntary humanitarian returns, cooperation with other countries of origin and transit, as well as voluntary resettlement. All vessels operating in the Mediterranean must respect the applicable laws and not obstruct operations of the Libyan coastguard.

On EU territory, those who are saved, according to international law, should be taken charge of, on the basis of a shared effort, through the transfer in controlled centres set up in member states, only on a voluntary basis, where rapid and secure processing would allow, with full EU support, to distinguish between irregular migrants, who will be returned, and those in need of international protection, for whom the principle of solidarity would apply. All the measures in the context of these controlled centres, including relocation and resettlement, will be on a voluntary basis, without prejudice to the Dublin reform.

Updated

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU commissioner for migration, has said the agreement reached this morning was a “positive first step towards more solidarity”.

In a series of tweets in the early hours of this morning, Avramopolous called on EU member states to finalise the Common European Asylum System and to strengthen Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency.

Last week, Avramopouls said the EU wanted to “intensify cooperation” with Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Niger and Morocco and announced the intention to create a “regional disembarkation scheme”, similar to the scheme discussed and agreed upon by European government leaders overnight.

Updated

After a long night of talks that wrapped up at about 3am local time, leaders are expected back at 11am to begin day two of discussions. They are due to talk about Brexit today, though Theresa May has already addressed the council on the subject of Brexit, issuing a stark warning to them yesterday that their citizens’ lives will be at risk if they fail to show more flexibility on Brexit.

Brussels has insisted the UK will not be able to participate in information-sharing schemes such as Ecris (European Criminal Records Information System) and Prüm, through which EU authorities track criminals and terrorists, once it is a “third country”.

Theresa May arrives at the Europa building in Brussels on Thursday.
Theresa May arrives at the Europa building in Brussels on Thursday. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AFP/Getty Images

Yesterday, May told her fellow leaders that, if the EU continues to insist on this, Britain “will no longer be able to share real-time alerts for wanted persons, including criminals. We would be able to respond less swiftly to alerts for missing people, either side of the Channel, and reunite them with their loved ones. And our collective ability to map terrorist networks across Europe and bring those responsible to justice would be reduced. That is not what I want, and I do not believe that is what you want either”.

Several papers led their coverage today with May’s warning. The Times’ splash headline was: “EU putting lives at risk over Brexit, warns May”, the Daily Express led with: “EU ‘risking lives’ in row over security”, whereas the i had: “Divided cabinet dismays Europe”.

The European Council press office has shared this photo of the leaders hard at work in negotiations. Angela Merkel is in the centre on the far side of the circular table (in the jewel-green jacket).

The issue of immigration – which has been long-simmering and threatened the cohesion of the EU – is of particular importance to Merkel, whose coalition government is under strain after Germany’s hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer threatened to turn away any asylum claimants already registered in another EU country, unless Merkel came up with a solution by 1 July.

It is unclear whether this deal will be enough to appease the German chancellor’s critics back home.

Before leaving for the EU summit, Merkel addressed the Bundestag, saying European leaders should find a solution to asylum challenges “by allowing ourselves to be guided by values and rooting for multilateralism rather than unilateralism” and that failing to do so risked creating a situation where “no one believes in the value system that has made us so strong”.

For more on Merkel’s troubles at home and warnings to European leaders, read this excellent piece from my colleagues Jennifer Rankin and Philip Oltermann.

Updated

EU leaders announce migration "solution"

European leaders have claimed to have reached a breakthrough on migration challenges, after all-night talks.

Gathering in Brussels, leaders are due to turn their attention to Brexit today, but yesterday the chief subject of debate was migration, as heads of government tried to find answers to what Angela Merkel has dubbed “vital questions” posed by migration to the union.

Announcing the end of tense summit talks shortly before dawn, the head of the European Council Donald Tusk tweeted that EU leaders had reached an agreement, including on migration.

Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin, has been reporting through the night. She writes:

Hours earlier that outcome had been in doubt, when Italy threatened to veto the entire text, unless other EU states did more to help with people arriving on Italian shores. Opposition from Poland, Hungary and other central European states to any hint of mandatory action meant talks dragged through the night.

The euro jumped 0.6% on news of the deal, while French president Emmanuel Macron declared that European cooperation “has won the day”.

Italy’s new prime minister Giuseppe Conte said: “We are satisfied. It was a long negotiation but from today Italy is no longer alone.”

But the bloc dodged an agreement on controversial refugee quotas, as a quartet of central European countries resisted language on EU-wide responsibility. “It is a thin deal,” said one senior source.

The plan agreed upon aims to bolster the bloc’s external borders and improve solidarity between member states, to reduce pressure on countries like Greece, Spain and Italy, which are points of arrival into Europe.

Details are hazy, but the plan seems to involve establishing screening centers in North Africa, where asylum eligibility is assessed. European Union funds would be used to persuade the countries to sign on. At present no north African countries have suggested they would be willing to participate.

Leaders also agreed that EU countries should help migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to alleviate the burden on Italy and Greece – an issue that has come to the fore since Italy closed its ports to migrant rescue ships – but details of how this would work remained unclear.

On leaving the summit the German chancellor conceded that “we still have a lot of work to do to bridge the different views,” but said it was “a good signal” that the EU had agreed a common text, Jennifer Rankin reports. Merkel had warned on Thursday that the future of the European Union hinged on whether it could find answers to the “vital questions” posed by migration.

We will be bringing you more news from the EU summit, plus other political news, opinion and analysis throughout the day. You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.

Updated

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