Theresa May will be going to Brussels on Saturday in an attempt to complete Brexit negotiations.
After meeting with the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, for almost two hours, the leaders said there were still some major issues to resolve.
“We have had a very good meeting this evening. We have made further progress and as a result, we have given sufficient direction to our negotiators,” said May on Wednesday.
“I hope for them to be able to resolve the remaining issues and that work will start immediately. I now plan to return for further meetings, including with President Junker, on Saturday to discuss how we can bring to a conclusion this process and bring it to a conclusion in the interests of all our people.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested that she may not attend the leaders’ summit on Sunday. Merkel had said that she required a finalised agreement to be agreed on well before the meeting.
When the prime minister was asked why negotiations had not yet been completed, she said: “Well, there are some further issues that need resolution.”
“We have given direction to our negotiators this evening. The work on those issues will now start immediately. I believe we have been able to given sufficient direction for them to be able to resolve those remaining issues.”
The withdrawal agreement is 585-pages that covers themes including citizens’ rights and the Irish border issue.
The prime minister’s Brexit plan has been criticized by many MPs from all parties, including Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
Sturgeon wrote in the Guardian, there was, “an emerging cross-party consensus that can lead to a much better outcome, with broad agreement between the SNP, Labour, the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru, the Greens – and indeed some Conservatives – that parliament must reject both the current proposal and a no-deal outcome”.
