EU leaders to call emergency Brexit summit as Tusk warns no-deal catastrophe 'still quite possible'

EU leaders are set to organise an emergency Brexit summit in Brussels for November in a last-ditch bid to avoid a no-deal.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk warned that failure to reach a deal would be a “catastrophe” and was still “quite possible” ahead of a meeting this week in Salzburg set to be attended by Theresa May and other national leaders.

In a letter to heads of state and government inviting them to the Salzburg meeting, Mr Tusk floated the possibility of a special November summit, telling them: “Let me recall that limiting the damage caused by Brexit is our shared interest. Unfortunately, a no-deal scenario is still quite possible. But if we all act responsibly, we can avoid a catastrophe.”

EU leaders will on Thursday meet over lunch in the Austrian alpine fortress city with their chief negotiator Michel Barnier and hash out a unified position on Chequers and the future relationship between the EU and UK.

Member states have differences on how much detail they want Britain to commit to in the future relationship by the end of talks to get a deal. Some governments are happy to remain vague in order to ease the passage of a deal – but others, such as France, have concerns that further kicking the can down the road would be ultimately unproductive.

“There are still differences of approach on a few fundamental issues,” one senior EU diplomat said. The diplomat added that member states were divided on whether the declaration “leaves a certain space” for future negotiations on trade and “how detailed it should be”.

Well-connected sources in Brussels have told The Independent that leaders are searching for positive things to say about the PM’s Chequers plan so as not to destabilise her. But they are extremely unlikely to agree to the fundamental proposals on customs and the single market for goods – viewing them as a breach of EU sovereignty and integrity.

Donald Tusk, European Council president

Instead, they are likely to emphasise what they see as positive aspects on security and the fact that both sides want a free trade agreement – points that have never been particularly contentious with either side.

“I think the debate on the joint political declaration will take as its point of departure the assessment of the European Commission of progress in negotiation and also the assessment by the commission of the Chequers proposals,” the senior EU diplomat said.

But speaking in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU ministers, Brexit minister Lord Callanan called for the EU to give ground.

“The UK has compromised, we’ve produced our white paper, and it’s now time for the EU to reciprocate," he told reporters. "If we’re to put together a deal, there has to be compromises from both sides, and we look forward to saying what the EU has to say about this.”

The 27 leaders are also expected to re-state their position on Northern Ireland and their demand that Theresa May agrees to a “backstop” to prevent a hard border. Sources in Brussels suggest the European Commission is drawing up a new plan for the backstop in a bid to win Britain over, but it is unclear what form it will take and whether it will be acceptable to eurosceptics in the Tory party.

Many, including the DUP, on which Theresa May’s minority government relies for a majority in the Commons, view the current plan to keep Northern Ireland in the EU customs area as a breach of British sovereignty.

“Since we are approaching the last lap of the negotiations there is a need to plan that process ahead,” one senior EU diplomat said.

“In that context President Tusk will propose an additional, extraordinary European Council in November that will be discussed in Salzburg.”

Brexit is however somewhat taking a back seat at the Salzburg summit, with migration and security set to be the headline issues dominating the agenda.

Theresa May will also again not be allowed into the main discussion about Brexit as the EU holds its unified line against allowing her to directly negotiate with member states – much to British annoyance. The PM is instead expected to be given a short period to address leaders, without any debate, after dinner on the Wednesday night, when all other businesses has been finished.