Merkel: EU has not set date for new Brexit summit

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

EU has not decided on a date for a special Brexit summit due to insufficient progress in the U.K.’s exit talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels following the EU leaders' summit, Merkel underlined that the EU and the U.K. could not yet overcome their differences on the Irish border issue.

“Once we have sufficient progress, we will meet again at any moment. We know that sooner is better, she said.

"But right now, it is not foreseeable when such a meeting can take place.”

She emphasized the unity among the EU’s 27 member states on their Brexit stance.

Talks between the EU and U.K. negotiating teams broke up on Sunday without a deal, mainly due to the disagreements on the Irish border issue.

On Wednesday evening, British Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the summit, and later the leaders of the 27 member states discussed the way forward in Brexit talks.

The U.K. is set to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.