British Prime Minister Theresa May has urged EU leaders to seize on "a new dynamic" in Brexit talks and solve differences over a future border with Ireland to agree a deal on their future partnership.
Leaders of the European Union are expected to sign off on Friday on an offer of a transition period and set out their terms for forthcoming talks on post-Brexit trade. At the end of a Thursday night summit dinner, May took to the floor to call on them not to squander that opportunity to reach an overall deal.
By securing agreement on a 21-month transition period to allow businesses to prepare after Britain leaves the bloc in March next year, May now faces possibly the hardest part of a negotiation that has already shaken her grip on power.
"We have the chance, now, to create a new dynamic in the talks to work together to explore workable solutions -- in Northern Ireland, in our future security co-operation and in order to ensure the future prosperity of all our people," she told the leaders at the end of a dinner of scallops and lamb.
"This is an opportunity it is our duty to take and to enter into with energy and ambition," she added, according to a senior British official.
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May hopes the expected agreement by EU leaders on Friday will mark the start of the end of punishing talks, during which she has been criticised by some in her own party for giving too much away to Brussels and failing to take a tough enough stance.
