leo varadkar said in a statement that he had spoken to european council president donald tusk and agreed best option and could not be renegotiated. the european commission has said that uppermost thoughts are with the irish side, so close liaison with leo varadkar. mark rutte says he is better prepared in the uk for a no deal. those preparations are still going on within the european union. those preparations are still going on within the european union. with me to discuss the possible options for the government to take its next steps isjoe owen, associate director of the brexit programme at the independent think—tank, the institute for government. welcome. just looking atjohn‘s welcome. just looking at john‘s peas and all the various spectrum of options there are, what do you think is the most likely scenario over the coming weeks after christmas? we know the vote is not happening tomorrow and we note the prime minister will go back to brussels to look to try and renegotiate and get some assurances that will help smooth the passage of that. what we do not know is when any meaningful vot

tonight, donald tusk, the european council president, announced a special brexit summit of eu leaderss. to facilitate the ratification of the deal in the uk. the decision to delay the brexit vote in parliament while dramatic in the uk actually changes little here in the eu. of course eu leaders want the vote to pass and what to avoid an no—deal brexit so they're open to hearing from the prime minister what she needs from them, up to a point. reassurances on the backstop — that, they can provide. renegotiation, absolutely not, is the view here tonight. the eu is well aware the main sticking point is the irish border guarantee known as the backstop. something the eu shows no sign of backing away from. the deal‘s the deal, it's taken two years to put together. it is a fair deal for both sides. it protects from an irish perspective and british perspective peaceful relationships on the island of ireland. critics in the uk do not like the backstop because it keeps the uk tied to eu customs regulations and prevents the uk making its own trade deals in the uk and nees the eu's go—ahead to get

that the british premier is now in brussels where she has met with the president of the european council donald tusk among other top. political analyst. believes theresa may is unlikely to make any breakthrough on her brakes of plan. but what we've noticed throughout these last two years that the e.u. has been very concrete or very stable in what it's been expected it's what it's expected from the u.k. and what its own expectations are and they haven't you know that really too much on what they hope to achieve from this britain on the other side has been wavering back and forth trying to find the best you know trying to find the best way forward because internally in parliament there's been such deep divisions where one deal cannot please or so if she does return which she will i don't think we'll see any major changes or any even little changes to the deal as a stance if you look back to what the initial question was did anyone specifically outlined what breaks it actually meant that is the resulting no on all sides so now when she tries to execute something which wasn't for formed in a concrete wa

if the british premier is now in brussels where she'll meet with the president of the european council donald tusk among other top officials while that's going on back at home the british leader snatched away m.p.'s chance of course to vote on a withdrawal plan in the last minute that happened last night the vote should have been today trades in may was jeered and buddha she told parliament she was perspiring the vote and then peace across the house didn't mince their words about it either. just this house wants to deliver bricks it. if she doesn't take on board the fundamental changes required then she must make way for those who can bammers across this house don't want your deal does she not realize how chaotic and when articulates this make you know. this isn't a government in control failing again. isn't her time wasting to life simply reckless what has been the portable pain among certainty of the last two years what the heck is going more oh i. for eight is it true but not a prime minister is better than a bad prime minister yet it's two and a half years since britain voted to leave the euro

theresa may is currently in brussels where she's been meeting the european council president donald tuskyesterday he, too, ruled out renegotiation. she's already been to berlin to see the german chancellor angela merkel. she said there is ‘no way to change‘ the brexit deal. mrs may's first meeting of the day was in the haguer over breakfsast with the dutch prime minister, mark rutte. tomorrow, mrs may meets her irish counterpart, the taisoeach, leo varadkar. on the crucial question of when mps will get that big vote — downing street says it will take place by the 21st january — which is the final deadline for the deal to be approved. in the commons today — labour forced an emergency debate — on the government's handling of the debate and jeremy corbyn is being urged by other opposition parties to engineer a vote of no confidence in the government. theresa may has been speaking in the last hour at the ambassador‘s residence in brussels. there is a shared determination to deal with the issue and address this problem. i am going to be seeing the taoiseach leo varadkar tomorrow and then retu

terms brags that the british prime is now in brussels where she's met the president of the european council donald tusk among other top officials. still in europe france again now after four weeks of civil unrest there president emanuel micron gave a speech on monday night making several concessions to the yellow vest protest movement. it was because of this crisis i want to reconcile with you salaries will increase by one hundred euros in twenty nineteen at no extra cost to employers over time will not be taxed and i will ask all employers to pay an end of year bonus this will not be taxed and there will be no social payments for pensioners receiving less than two thousand euros the tax increase will be cancelled as we had planned the total cost of all the measures is likely to be between eight billion and ten billion euros we are in the process of fine tuning to see how to finance that was because it would you know sort of course to book would want micron's words are mostly useless namely the proposal to raise the minimum wage by one hundred euros but he did not specify that it would be one hundred g

from the european council president, donald tusk, just picked this up on the news wires, he is questioningand a hopelessly weak imagination, comparing it to the end of the first world war. really? justified? that will go down well! he's on a trip to germany at the moment, in dortmund, that's what he's saying. you saw at the eu council meeting on friday, hostilities on all sides have got increasingly frosty. use of donald tusk and juncker saying we might have been discourteous to theresa may but it's nothing compared to what her own mps do —— you saw. may but it's nothing compared to what her own mps do -- you saw. the daily mail has its nhs story. volunteer army? this is like other newspapers saying people are fed up of brexit. they want a campaign to get people to volunteer in hospitals, they say they have 23,000 readers who have signed up, very successful, great news. they're saying the nhs wants to increase that number even more, doubling the numberof that number even more, doubling the number of volunteers working in our hospitals doing all sorts ofjobs, helping the nurses and doctors,

european council this week. eu leaders, meeting on thursday and friday. donald tuskcuss brexit. so far, no doubt has been proposed by the british side. theresa may has been making love or correct and angle before coming to brussels this —— theresa may has been meeting mark ripped and angela merkel. theresa may cannot deliver promises to parliament. i suspect that to reason me is somehow playing for time. let that cook for a while. we've seen that cook for a while. we've seen that there will not be another vote, potentially before the 21st of january. i think that's what her strategy could be at the moment, is of high—risk one. strategy could be at the moment, is of high-risk one. one of the issues you can maybe shed some light on. to what extent can mrs may get something in these next few days, including in dublin tomorrow, which is legally enforceable. something that she can say, it's baked into this agreement in some kind of way thatis this agreement in some kind of way that is legally enforceable. do you think that's beyond the these few days of talks now? i think

the president of the european council donald tusk insisted there would be no renegotiation but was alwayss and provide reassurance. we are ready to reconfirm our assurances in our goodwill, and good faith in the so—called backstop. i have no mandate to organise and deferred negotiations. we have to exclude any kind of reopening of our negotiations of the agreement. but of course, we will stay here and brussels, and i always as prime minister theresa may's disposal. it is myjob and my pleasure of course to be in contact with prime minister on to be in contact with prime minister o n releva nt to be in contact with prime minister on relevant issues. that was donald tusk. with me is our reality check correspondent, chris morris. she said she she was not expecting immediate breakthroughs, would you make do what she has got what she has not got? in some ways, the eu has not got? in some ways, the eu has made their way in their best to put a statement and we are going to try and reassure you that is a temporary and for the backstop, it isa temporary and for the backstop, it is a weapon of last

later this afternoon, the prime minister is meeting the president of the european council, donald tuskd say before in this parliament, the deal we have achieved is the best deal possible, it is the only deal possible, and so we cannot... applause. there is no room whatsoever for renegotiation. but, of course, there is room, if used intelligently, there is room enough to give further clarifications and further interpretations without opening the withdrawal agreement. this will not happen — everyone has to note that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened. the big problem, of course, is the backstop for ireland. we have a common determination to do everything to be not in a situation one day to use that backstop, but we have to prepare it, it is necessary, it is necessary for the entire coherence of what we have agreed with them, and it is necessary for ireland. ireland will never be left alone. well, i think the prime minister is due to arrive for her meeting with angela merkel, the german chancellor, in berlin, and indeed there is the motorcade carrying the prime minister to that

been told the leaves of the greencastle, donald tusk and his tea m greencastle, donald tusk and his team watching the bbc right now —— leader of the european counciler theresa may has finished with this prospect of what she calls clarification, the assurances from the european union on the backstop. my the european union on the backstop. my understanding so far is the european leaders might discuss the idea of reassurances but as for renegotiation, so far they're saying thatis renegotiation, so far they're saying that is out of the question. thank you, gavin. the latest arts in brussels, as gavin was saying, right at the heart of the matter, will there be some reassurances around this northern ireland backstop which will go far enough to satisfy laws of the conservative mps and indeed the ulster unionist party too? the signs are so far, talking to sammy wilson and others, they want something much more than that but thatis something much more than that but that is really the core of the debates today. the debate has been going on for over two hours. the prime mac has been on herfeet going on for over two hours. the prime mac has been on her feet fo

a few minutes ago the president of the european council, donald tusk, seemed to be feeling more concilitaryheresa may. mr tusk wrote: so what next? in short all options are open. it could be this deal or no deal or an election or another referendum. after a week of debate, and 164 mp‘s rising to speak in it, we head into the christmas recess with nothing resolved. and if you were thinking "what a pantomime" — well, you wouldn't be far off. given that the segment of the commission, it clear nothing has changed and nothing will change. we think that is changing is the view of british people. i know it and the other on the pantomime season, but, oh, yes it has. let's get your view on holistic delivered time. we've the secretary today, the scottish secretary saying there will definitely give it. if you are really tell, no what went wrong? that was not your question. i think she assessed the situation and realise there was a significant opposition from members of the conservative party. in order to alleviate that, sure to go to brussels to try and get a deal that would placate their fear. brusse

twenty summit european council president donald tusk said the deal on the table now is quote the best possible in fact the only possible one meanwhile ms may and opposition leader jeremy corbyn of the labor party are wrangling over the terms of a televised debate on brecht currently planned for sunday evening. and we now take a look and get an update on breakfast with the c.e.o. of strom artillery ford which hillary thank you again for being with us we appreciate you also had become our resident expert on brecht's it and we're so pleased and honored that you would help us you know we spoke a few times about some of the bank of england stuff that mark carney seems to really be upping the ante saying look this could be a real problem what do you make of it all well yes he said you're right he said it could be as bad as ten percent or more likely he said about six percent and what he did make clear was this is not something he's come up with overnight in fact his exact words were something like you know we have been cramming for an exam they he's had one hundred fifty analysts working on

in the last few minutes the european council to do so. president donald tusk has tweeted to say. ve decided to call a european council meeting on brexit on thursday. we will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate uk ratification. as time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a no—deal scenario. our political editor laura kuennsberg reports. these landmarks at the same but these are extraordinary days that this place will never. when the premise that's most important plan that's taken more than two years, theresa may simply didn't have the mps to back out. instead, the prime minister back down. if we better head and held the data model, it would be rejected by a significant margin. we will defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow and not proceed to divide the house at this time. in other words, she knew she would lose so there will be no vote tomorrow. instead, she is appealing tomorrow. instead, she is appealing to the rest of the eu to look again at the most controversial part of the agreement — the backsto

feel increasingly alone in fighting for multi-lateralism, but are still pushing, as european council president donald tusk today: >> as this is a diffict moment for international cooperation, i would like to appeal to the leaders to use this summit, including the bilateral and informal exchanges, to seriously discuss real issues such as trade wars, the tragic situation in syria and yemen, and the russian aggression in ukraine. >> schifrin: that's a reference to russi ships ramming and firing on ukrainian boats last sunday, and detaing ukrainian ilors paraded on russian tv. despite a busy week in the special counsel's investigation, president trump reiterated that was the only reason he canceled a planmeeting with russian president vladimir putin. >> hopefully they'll be able to settle it out soon, because we look forward to meeting with president putin. but on the basis of whook place, with respect to the ships and sailors-- that was the sole reason. >> schifrin: but u.s.-russia tension extends to nuclear arms control-- the intermediate-range treaty the u.s. is threatening to leave, and the new start trea

the european council's president, donald tusk, underscored that point, at meetings in brussels. >> ie no mandate to organize any further negotiations. of have to exclude any kin re-opening our negotiations on the withdrawal agreement. but of course, we will stay here in brussels, and i am always at prime minister theresa may's disposal. >> brangham: at one point, may had a heated exchange with european commission president jean-claude juncker. he had dismissed britain's demands as "nebulous and imprecise." negotiators at u.n. climate talks in poland agreed today to extend their meetings through sunday. they're trying to finalize a "rule book" for meeting global wakeing goals. sticking points include how to create a global market in d carbon credits, ether to compensate countries alreadyli damaged byte change. back in this country, gisconsin's defeated republican governor signed ation that weakens the powers of the incoming democraatc governor and rney general. scott walker dismissed criticism that the move was a power grab by repubcans. and, he sparred, long distance, with incoming g

the formal summit, mrs may will meet with the irish prime minister leo varadkar and european council president donald tuskat he has called "last—minute talks". our assistant political editor norman smithjoins me now. what is the assessment of her position today? weaker or stronger? well, for hurting it is stronger in the sense she survived. she is guaranteed for another year not to face any other leadership challenges. in terms of her party i would suggest it is weaker. notjust because you have got 117 voting against her, which is a sizeable number, but because they voted against despite the fact mrs may sought to basically buy them off by saying i will not be your leader at the next election. do not worry, i will be gone. even then 117 chose to vote against her. on top of all that the brexiteers had a disastrous day yesterday, they were all over the place, there were caught on the hop by the speed of the contest. downing street were out of the blocks straightaway, sending people over to tv cameras, texting supporters. the way everything was concertina into 12 hours benefited mrs may. she had prime minist

to make things even harder for the pm, the european council president donald tusk says the other eu countriestiate her deal, including the controversial northern irish backstop. let's talk to some voters and some politicians. eleanor durdy voted remain in 2016, but now wants the uk to leave the european union. she supports mrs may's deal. bindi karia voted remain and wants a referedum on the deal mrs may has negotiated. hani mustafa is a conservative activist who was too young to vote in the eu referendum, but would have chosen to leave. he would rather a no deal than what theresa may is offering. russell luckock voted to leave. he says theresa may is not going to be able to deliver the type of brexit that people voted for. abby king, who is a remainer, a labour volunteer, and her biggest concern about brexit is the end of free movement. i'm going to ask you all, what do you think? i think it is absolutely chaos. the scenes at westminster yesterday were completely unprecedented. i have never seen anything like it. i cannot believe we have a ladder to get this far. theresa may does not have co

the european council president, donald tusk, told a news conference last night that the deal wasn't openn. it is not open for renegotiation. the european council underlines that the backstop is intended as an insurance policy to prevent a hard border on the island of ireland and ensure the integrity of the single market. let's talk to our brussels reporter adam fleming. what did she get and what didn't she get? so, she got a statement from the eu leaders, the 27 other countries, saying that they say the backstop is an insurance policy that is temporary, and if it comes and it will only be in place for as long as it is needed. it will not be permanent and the eu has given a pledge that they will continue to use their best endeavours to use their legal language to negotiate a future trade relationship, a future economic partnership that means the backstop will not be required. even if the backstop has been triggered. so, the uk sees those things as winds. what they have not got is that in an earlier draft of the document that was floating around brussels earlier this week, it was a stateme

it has now been added by the president of the european council, donald tusk. and fleming. visited the place where her body was found, on the outskirts of auckland. david millane took part in a traditional maori blessing ceremony, alongside grace's uncle and members of the new zealand police force. a 26—year—old man has been charged with her murder. more from our correspondent in auckland, hywel griffith. this has been another heartbreaking day for the millane family, as grace's father and uncle came here to visit the site where her body was found. now, alongside the detective who has led the investigation into grace's murder, they took part in a traditional maori blessing service in the undergrowth in the place where she was found. flowers now mark that location. members of the public have also been bringing their flowers here, to show their compassion towards the family. although the forensic teams have finished their work at this site, we have seen other officers working through the dense woodland nearby, looking for any signs of disturbance, any evidence left behind, as

deal in place this is may also has meeting arranged with the president of the european council of ministers that's donald tusk he's the one who formally sent out the invitations to this meeting they're after a meeting of all twenty eight members of the european union at which there will be a frank exchange of views about breaks that the question will be what sort of assurances what sort of clarifications and interpretations will emerge from that those words are important because those are the words that the president of the european commission used this week speaking to european m.p.'s in strasbourg saying that with intelligent use of clarifications and interpretations there may be a way forward but the essential statistic is this how do you interpret the same language in one way in brussels that appeases the twenty seven members of the e.u. and yet allows a totally different interpretation of the same language in london in the u.k. parliament those people well those one hundred seventeen conservative m.p.'s who now have no confidence in their prime minister that's affectively what we're talking about here an

town so to resume a meets the teashop should then meets the president of the european council of ministers president donald tusk the man who sent out the new the that is inviting leaders to this meeting and then she'll meet all members all the heads of government heads of state of the e.u. put together when that's finished when that frank exchange of views is finished the twenty seven will discuss what their position will be the question is how can it really change given the fact that you have that vote in the bundestag this morning the german parliament saying what i've just read that to you it's very unlikely that that's going to change very much which means that the reason may must hope that when president john claude younker of the european commission this week told your m.p.'s perhaps there's room for intelligent use of clarifications and interpretations perhaps there's some interpretation out there that will play placate all sides but it has to be said so far from here it doesn't look like it ok thank you dominicana we'll be back with you later in the often are. a fire at a warehouse in democratic republi

donald tusk and jean—claude juncker hold a joint news conference. ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this press co nfe re nce and gentlemen, and welcome to this press conference following the european counciles the floor. good evening. i will start with brexit. today prime minister may informed the leaders about the difficulties with the ratifying the

formal summit, mrs may will meet with the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, and european council president donald tuske minister should still resign, as a third of her mps voted against her leadership. but cabinet colleagues say the issue is now settled. she has got the support of the party behind her and i wish her every success today in making sure she delivers on the question some of my colleagues have had about the backstop. thank you. french police have released an image of the gunman suspected to have carried out the attack on a christmas market in strasbourg. cherif chekatt is described as dangerous, and not to be approached. the search for him has been extended to germany. two people were killed in the attack on tuesday night. hundreds of soldiers are being deployed at christmas markets across france in response to the incident. at least nine people have been killed, and more than 40 injured in a train crash in turkey. the high—speed service collided with a locomotive used to carry out track inspections, and came off the tracks, at a station in the capital ankara. more than 40 people are said

tonight, donald tusk, the european council president, announced a special brexit summit of eu leaderssday. to negotiate? no, he says, to facilitate the ratification of the deal in the uk. the decision to delay the brexit vote in parliament, while dramatic in the uk, actually changes very little here in the eu. of course eu leaders want that vote to pass. they want to avoid an no—deal brexit. so they're open now to hearing from the prime minister what she needs from them — up to a point. reassurances on the backstop — that, they can provide. renegotiation, absolutely not, is the view here tonight. the eu is well aware the main sticking point in the brexit deal is the irish border guarantee known as the backstop, something the eu shows no sign of backing away from. the deal‘s the deal. it's taken two years to put together. it is a fair deal for both sides. it protects from an irish perspective and from a british perspective peaceful relationships on the island of ireland. critics in the uk don't like the backstop because it keeps the uk tied to eu customs regulations, prevents the uk fr

tonight donald tusk the european council president announced a special brexit summit of eu leaders thislitate the ratification of the deal in the uk. the decision to delay the brexit vote in parliament while dramatic in the uk actually changes little here in the eu. of course eu leaders want the vote to pass and what to avoid an no—deal brexit so they're open to hearing from the prime minister what she needs from them, up to a point. reassurances on the backstop, that they can provide. re—negotiation, absolutely not that is the you here tonight. the eu is well aware the main sticking point is the irish border guarantee known as the backstop. something that the eu shows no sign of backing away from. the deal is the deal and it has taken the deal is the deal and it has ta ke n two the deal is the deal and it has ta ken two years to the deal is the deal and it has taken two years to put together. it isafairer taken two years to put together. it is a fairer dealfor taken two years to put together. it is a fairer deal for both sides and objects from an irish perspective and british perspecti

donald tusk and jean—claude juncker hold a joint news conference. ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this press c0 nfe re nce and gentlemen, and welcome to this press conference following the european counciln both its information, article 50 on brexit. donald tusk takes the floor. good evening. i will start with brexit. today prime minister may informed the leaders about the difficulties with the ratifying the deal in london and asked for further assurances about the ratification process in the house of commons. after discussing the prime minister's intervention amongst 27 leaders and bring in my dow full respect for the parliamentary process in the united kingdom, we have agreed the following. —— and with full respect. the european council reconfirms its conclusions of the 25th of november 2018, in which it endorsed the withdrawal agreement and approved the political declaration. the union stands by this agreement and intends to proceed with its certification. it is not open for renegotiation. two, the european council reiterates the situation to establish as close as possible a partnership with the united kingdom the future. it stands ready to embark on preparations immediately after th

tonight we have a tweet from donald tusk, president of the european council, who described his encounterg and frank, which isn't exactly the most positive words. he said that eu leaders want to help but they are unsure how to. and that is because they think the brexit deal, the divorce deal that is on the table right now and that was negotiated over 19 months is the best compromise deal possible. if the uk wants to leave the eu, if the uk wants to leave the single marketand the customs market as well. so, yes, theresa may says she will continue with her european tour. on thursday, there is an emergency summit here in brussels where angela merkel, emmanuel macron, they think the ball is in the uk's court over brexit and not on in theirs. president trump's first meeting with senior democrats since they won control of the house of representatives in november's mid—term elections has ended in a televised row. mr trump said he would be proud to shut down the us government if he didn't secure billions of dollars in funding for a border wall with mexico. nancy, i do. we need border security. na

not so far but the point to make here peter is that the president of the european council the council of ministers donald tusk is meeting michel barnier the man empowered by the e.u. institutions to lead the negotiations regarding briggs's we wait to see exactly what will emerge from that meeting perhaps they are talking about well what they discussed with me what mr discussed with to resume a yesterday remember that she'd had that whistle stop tour of european capitals yesterday that took in the hague it took in berlin and of course it took in brussels here and indeed she was in the building behind me in the european commission meeting president jiang claude younker the man who had said to european m.p.'s in strasburg before she arrived that there was no possibility of renegotiation of the deal but he did perhaps offer her a crumb of comfort by saying well with intelligent use of clarifications and interpretations maybe there is a way through this question is what would those interpretations be because we were hearing from jonah there about the divisions in parliament the divisions in the conservative party

had a news conference from jean—claude junker at the commission president and the european council president donald tuskwhen she saw irritated by that this morning when she sanean—claude junker here irritated by that this morning when she sanean—claudejunker here at the summit, we could not hear what she was saying but lip—reading was pretty clear, that she said did you commie nebulous? he at his news conference explained he was talking more about the level of debate back in the united kingdom, he had been listening he said to the debate in the house of commons on brexit, did not like the tone of the debate and he was saying that was nebulous. he then went on to be very complimentary indeed about the british prime minister as did donald tusk, they both had warm words describing her as a good friend doing her best for her country. describing her as a good friend doing her best for her countrylj think at the very first moment, she thought that i criticised her by saying yesterday night that the british position was nebulous. i did not, by the way, i did not know it was translated to be nebulous. but i did

the european council president donald tusk was clear when he said "i have no mandate to organise anyre no other options. that is not the case. standing before parliament ruling out another referendum on eu membership is an act of desperation from the prime minister. knowing that she cannot get a loan deal through this place, the prime minister wants to silence debate. having ta ken the prime minister wants to silence debate. having taken away parliament's voice, our right to a meaningful vote, now the prime minister wants to take the right of the people to vote away. their democratic right to have their say, their democratic right to change their democratic right to change their mind. mrspeaker, their democratic right to change their mind. mr speaker, i plead to their mind. mr speaker, i plead to the prime minister to put all options back on the table. stop operating in isolation. reach out and speak with the opposition parties. we all have responsibility to protect our citizens. it is time, prime minister, to move beyond narrow party politics... it is time to operate in the interest

summit to the council of ministers and heads of state heads of government coming here at the invitation of president donald tusk of the european council with bragg's it firmly on the agenda but obviously if to reason may no longer has the confidence of her own conservative m.p.'s she won't be prime minister therefore she won't be coming to to brussels for that summit's the point here is that whatever she thought she was going to get from that whistle stop tour of the hague of berlin of brussels that took place yesterday she didn't really come back with anything other than the clear statement from angela merkel and from president jiang toward younker of the european commission the building behind me that there would be no renegotiation of the deal that they had agreed she might well have clung on to one crumb of comfort as it were that president younger had said to members of the european parliament that with intelligent clarification and interpretation there might be a way forward but how does she allow an interpretation of a deal to be to mean one thing in brussels and means almost exactly the opposite in london and indeed in

donald tusk, the european council's president , has posted this tweet of him singing a christmas carol can hear each other. except requests from theresa may for changes to the brexit deal, that is. he looked like he was in a young boy band in that clip. joanne duran. don't you think? that was good, clive. i am tone deaf and i dared not sing a note on air. christian links e is not tone deaf. but that was pretty good. i think you could sing us out with silent night. the problem is he is not singing sweet nothings into theresa may's ear. that is the problem! and he probably won't be over the next two weeks although she may hope for a little christmas gift. they have decided to go off on holiday despite the crisis. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — vladimir putin says theresa may doesn't have a choice but to deliver brexit. he also has a lot to say about washington's withdrawal from nuclear treaties and us troops in syria. a circular hole in the cloud. sunshine coming through. talking about cloud, we are looking at an a

tonight we had a tweet from donald tusk, the president of the european council.ribed his discussion with theresa may today as long and frank, which isn't exactly the most positive words. he said eu leaders wa nt to positive words. he said eu leaders want to help theresa may but they are not sure how, and that's because they think that the brexit deal, this divorce deal that right now is on the table and was negotiated over i9 on the table and was negotiated over 19 months, is the best compromise deal possible. if the uk wants to leave the eu, if the uk wants to leave the eu, if the uk wants to leave the eu, if the uk wants to leave the european single market and the customs union as well. so, yes, theresa may says she will continue with her european tour. on thursday, there is an emergency brexit summit of eu leaders here in brussels but angela merkel, emmanuel macron, what they think now is that the ball is very firmly in the uk's court over brexit and is not in theirs. katya adler, many thanks. live to westminster and our political editor laura kuenssberg. you

european leaders. in terms of our the going to give any concessions, we heard yesterday on the record from donald tusk, the head of the european councils that the eu is happy to help her get to the finish line. the eu does not want the u.k. to crash out. no one wants a no deal but this is key for the eu, it will be difficult to tweak and change what is legally binding and you have to make a clear distinction when it comes to brexit between the broad agreement, the legally binding rules and the future relationship, it would be easier also legally it binding looks difficult. what concessions can she get from eu leaders before thursday's summit? maria: this is 48 hours to go and if you look at this in the bigger picture and you follow the story for two years, the eu takes things to the last minute but they do not give anything until it is necessary and throughout this whole thing, leaving the eu will be difficult and it is painful. to fix it in twice for hours, approved deal is not credible but in terms of future concessions, both sides will say they do not intend to use the backstop but this is something that has been in the making to g

s we'll be talking to tourism a personally later on this evening as will president donald tusk from the european council of ministers they don't want to change their position so on the face of it as i say it doesn't appear as though there is any change which means that the reason may may well end up going back to london after this whistle stop tour you say of european capitals with not a great deal to show for it dominic thanks very much. well as we've been hearing during the course of today and yesterday one major sticking point of tourism is breaks it deal is the so-called backstop arrangement at the moment the border is pretty much invisible allowing people and goods to pass freely between northern ireland which is part of the u.k. and the republic of ireland separate country but it is a fellow e.u. member what everyone wants to avoid after brics it is a hard border so-called for checks and inspections reimposed that threatens trade and the peace deal called the good friday agreement for northern ireland where the e.u. and the u.k. have decided on a fallback plan or backstop keeping britain on the e.

donald tusk. he is the president of the european council, that's the representation in brussels of all 27 eu countrieshere will be no renegotiation. what the eu will do is look at how to facilitate theresa may, how to help her get their negotiated brexit deal through parliament. to that end he has called a special brexit summit this week on thursday inviting eu leaders to come here and talk about what they can offer the prime minister and to listen to what the prime list of needs from them. as laura said, though, in reality we are looking at clarifications, we are looking at reassurances from the eu side, for example, over the much contested irish backstop. but what we cannot expect, nick, is forthe eu to irish backstop. but what we cannot expect, nick, is for the eu to do something in favour of a departing member states, the something in favour of a departing memberstates, the uk, something in favour of a departing member states, the uk, that would damage an existing member country, and that is ireland and that it simply cannot afford to do that and it will not do that. so, laura, in theory, we will

donald tusk, the head of the european council, treated and said, we don't know about a solution.k you link is joining me now is helen thomas — a former advisor to george osborne. to george osborne. the timeline is incredibly tight for anything to happen. it's a matter of weeks before actual brexit day, let alone the situation that we're now in weather is new position on any for what happens next. you can switch the leader, but you still get the same factions. you do. politics is often about momentum. i think each faction is now looking to start to win people over to their vision of what the outcome should be. literally, anything is up for grabs. by literally, anything is up for grabs. by theresa may saying it's my view, no or brexit. that's actually emboldened the people of either side of that define push and get their outcome. they perhaps now see a way forward that they didn't see before. the point is, if you get any reader, people are more loyal. perhaps before the hind that we do at the plan they've? may be for a brief period of time. you still have to deal with some kind of

european union co—president donald tusk spoke to the media. bearing in mind ourfull respect for the parliamentary process in the united kingdom, we have agreed the following — first, the european councilconclusions of the 25th of november, 2018, in which it endorsed the withdrawal agreement and approved the political declaration. the union stands by this agreement and intends to proceed with its certification. it is not open for renegotiation. the bbc‘s nicholas watt gave this analysis of theresa may's reaction to eu claims she hadn't made any new proposals. the point is theresa may has proposed an idea. her idea is she would like legal certainty on the backstop would like legal certainty on the ba cksto p of would like legal certainty on the backstop of northern ireland, that is designed to prevent a hard border. she wants legal certainty that can come to an end. she put it on the table and they said no, thank you very much. i have to say that the conclusions of the eu 27, the eu the conclusions of the eu 27, the eu the uk that they released tonight make very grim reading for theresa may. they say they are standing by the brexit deal. they are pushing ahead with ratification. and the

are the this deal after the summit this coming and indeed whether it's from donald tusk the president of the european council of ministers or president jiang called young president of the european commission the building behind me here remember that he spoke to european m.p.'s in strasbourg at the european parliament and said no chance of renegotiation perhaps with intelligent clarifications and interpretations we can find a way through this so she's if she comes here as prime minister what can she take from here there are those who say that european summits are renowned for the last minute agreement the last minute accords that can be reached at that sometimes they go past their deadlines in the diplomats turn off the clock so they can pretend that they're still in the same day and try and negotiate a negotiated deal but so far at least publicly there is absolutely no suggestion of that they're absolutely adamant that the deal that they believe they had negotiated in good faith with a reason may is the only deal in town so coming here if she comes here is prime minister she's confronted with that reality. a