BRUSSELS: Britain and the European Union could agree a “provisional” deal next week on a post-Brexit transition period, a senior Brussels diplomat said on Friday, stressing that this will only happen if London and the bloc resolve all divorce matters first.

British Prime Minister Theresa May will attend an EU summit next Thursday and Friday, and is hoping for a deal that will reassure business that not much will change for about two years after Britain leaves the bloc as scheduled in March 2019.

But the bloc says a stalemate on agreeing how to avoid returning to a hard border in Ireland after Brexit risks derailing any deal, and negotiations are expected to go on until the last minute.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2018