Irish Prime Minister sees possibility of deal on Britain’s withdrawal from EU this month fading

The chances of sealing a deal on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union this month are fading, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday.

Reuters report that EU leaders had previously penciled in a summit for mid-November to sign off on any Brexit deal with London. Negotiators from both sides, however, remain at odds over ways to guarantee there is no return of border controls on the frontier between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.

“I do think that, with every day that passes, the possibility of having a special summit in November becomes less likely,” Varadkar told reporters after meeting Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila.

Meanwhile the United Kingdom is heading toward leaving the European Union without a divorce deal, a senior member of the Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May’s government said on Tuesday.