The political leadership of the European Union has reportedly abandoned the October deadline for reaching a final Brexit agreement with the United Kingdom, according to reports in the British media. Leaders in Brussels are reportedly seeking to push the final deadline back to December which would be less than three months before Britain's exit from the bloc in March 2019.
Chief among the roadblocks in the negotiations has been divisions at the heart of the UK government, with Prime Minister Theresa May's Cabinet split down the middle between equally assertive factions demanding a full institutional split from Europe and the closest ties possible respectively.
"There is no hope really for October now. We don't know exactly what she is asking for yet, so how can there be? First the UK needs to decide what it wants, then there needs to be a discussion here and even if it is acceptable, there are processes that have to take place first before everyone agrees to move forward," an EU source reportedly told the British newspaper The Independent.