President Donald Tusk meets Prime Minister Theresa May, London, 26 September 2017

European Council President Donald Tusk met United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street, London on the 26 September 2017 for a meeting to discuss the state of the negotiations for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.

After the meeting President Tusk said 'Today I would say there is no 'sufficient progress' yet'. However, he was cautiously optimistic about the constructive and more realistic tone of Prime Minister May in her speech in Florence on the 22 September 2017.

At the end of the meeting, Mrs May said her Florence speech had been intended to create momentum in the ongoing talks. She said it was important for EU negotiators to now respond in the same spirit.

At the European Council in Brussels on 19-20 October 2017 the European Commision and EU 27 would decide whether 'sufficient progress' had been made in the first phase of the negotiations to permit a move to a second phase, which would include discussion of topics such as free trade, customs, justice and home affairs issues, and transition arrangements.

Politico, 26.09.17: Donald Tusk: ‘No sufficient progress yet’ in Brexit talks http://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-negotiation-donald-tusk-no-sufficient-progress-yet-in-talks/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

United Kingdom: GOV.UK: Prime Minister's Office: Press Release, 26.09.17: PM meeting with Donald Tusk: 26 September 2017 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-donald-tusk-26-september-2017

Blog: Open Europe, 27.09.17: The EU needs to cut out the amateur dramatics over Brexit and prepare to talk trade https://openeurope.org.uk/today/blog/eu-needs-cut-amateur-dramatics-brexit-prepare-talk-trade/

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