Britain's May Says Brexit Negotiations Have Reached 'an Impasse'

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the EU’s current proposals for arrangements after Brexit were unacceptable because they would require the break up of the U.K. Photo: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

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Max Colchester and

Max Colchester

The Wall Street Journal

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Max.Colchester@wsj.com

William Horner

Sept. 21, 2018 10:02 a.m. ET

British Prime Minister Theresa May Friday warned that Brexit talks had hit an impasse and called on European leaders to present new proposals as negotiations between the two sides turn increasingly acrimonious.

Standing in front of two British flags in Downing Street, Mrs. May pledged to push on with her negotiating position and said it was up to the EU leaders to explain why her plan to withdraw from the EU wouldn’t work. “We now need to hear from the EU what the real issues are and what their alternative is so that we can discuss them,” Mrs. May said. “Until we do, we cannot make progress.”

The pound slipped further against the dollar and the euro as Mrs. May spoke, adding to losses earlier in the day. The pound was down 1.5% against the dollar and 1% against the euro at €1.1147.

Mrs. May’s remarks appeared aimed at demonstrating strength ahead of the Conservative Party conference later this month, where she will have to unite a political party deeply fractured by Brexit. The British Prime Minister has faced heavy criticism in the U.K. for the perceived humiliation of the slap-down by EU leaders, who yesterday branded her Brexit plan to keep the U.K. loosely bound to the trade bloc as unworkable. European Council President Donald Tusk said the EU’s remaining 27 members thought Britain’s proposed economic framework “will not work.”

“Yesterday Donald Tusk said our proposals would undermine the single market,” Mrs. May said on Friday. “He didn’t explain how in any detail or make any counterproposal. So we are at an impasse.”

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The U.K.’s Brexit proposal, approved by the cabinet in July, may now need to be altered, analysts say. With less that 200 days until the U.K. formally quits the EU in late March 2019, EU leaders have warned that time is running out. A final deal should be wrapped by November to leave enough time for it to be ratified by governments on both sides of the negotiations.

A key sticking point remains what happens to Northern Ireland should the Brexit talks collapse. The EU wants Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., to continue following a swath of EU rules and for customs and regulatory checks to take place between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. Mrs. May said Friday that the idea of Northern Ireland being cleaved from the U.K. was “unacceptable.” She added that her government will set out an alternative plan but didn’t specify when. Mrs. May also assured that EU citizens living in the U.K. would have their rights protected even if no deal with the bloc is reached.

Meanwhile, Mrs. May is battling to shore up support at home. With the Conservative Party conference less than two weeks away, Mrs. May used the intervention to try to bolster her credentials with the Brexit contingent of her party. She reiterated that she would not “overturn the results of the referendum” and stated that she was working “day and night” for deal that would see the U.K. leave the EU.

Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com

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