Brexit: EU sets midnight on Sunday deadline for Theresa May to agree Northern Ireland deal

The PM is yet to return to Brussels after talks collapsed

European Commission chief spokesperson Margaritis Schinas (EbS)

The European Union has set in stone a midnight Sunday deadline for Theresa May to reach a Brexit deal on the Northern Ireland border ahead of a make-or-break summit in Brussels.

Margaritis Schinas, the chief spokesperson for the European Commission, told reporters in Brussels on Thursday that Theresa May was welcome back in the EU capital any time this week for discussions – after her last attempt at a deal was vetoed by the DUP.

“So far, no white smoke. We stand ready to receive Prime Minister May at any moment in time when they’re ready,” Mr Schinas said.

“This would have to happen this week. In this building, we work for a full week, 24/7, and our week includes Sunday.”

He added: “The stories that we read this morning on the alleged prolongation of the deadline into next week are not correct.

“I want it to be very clear: if we are going to prepare for the summit properly, there is a certain sequence of events that has to be followed.”

European Council president Donald Tusk is set to make a statement on Brexit in Brussels early tomorrow morning, amid stalling progress.

After her failure to make a breakthrough on Monday the Prime Minister said she would return to Belgium this week, but as night fell on Thursday no announcement of any future visit was forthcoming on either side of the channel.

The difficulty appears to be on the British side, with the UK Government struggling to bring the DUP – who the Conservatives rely on for a majority in the House of Commons – onside with a solution for the Irish border. The European Commission said earlier this week that “the show is now in London” as far as Brexit talks are concerned.

Matters appear to be complicated by the DUP dragging its feet on whether and when it will meet with Ms May face to face.

Asked whether there were active efforts to arrange a meeting with Theresa May, Mr Schinas said the teams were “in touch”.

But he would not be drawn on whether the Sunday midnight deadline was Brussels or London time, stating only that “both are perfectly valid”.

Theresa May relies on the DUP for a majority in the House of Commons, giving leader Arlene Foster (right) an effective veto (PA)

Asked about whether the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was still optimistic about talks reaching a deal, as he claimed to be on Monday after talks with Ms May collapsed, Mr Schinas said: “President Juncker is a born optimist and I think that being an optimist served him well in his long political career spanning 35 years, but it takes two to tango, it takes two to be optimistic.”

If Ms May does not reach “sufficient progress” on a deal on the three separation issues – EU citizens’ rights, the Northern Ireland border, and the divorce bill – ahead of next week’s Brussels summit, the next opportunity to progress to a deal will be in March.

Such an eventuality will massively throw off the Brexit talks timetable, with the UK set to crash out of the bloc without a deal in March 2019 if not enough progress is made.

To complicate matters, the EU also says it needs six months to ratify any deal, cutting the deadline down even further.