Theresa May needs to convince EU27 leaders that she can deliver – me, on the status of Brexit negotiations ahead of today's #EUCO buzzfeed.com/albertonardell…
You can call it a backstop to the backstop, backstop 2, whatever, but the bottom line is that to conclude a deal the UK needs to agree to a legal text that prevents a hard border in Northern Ireland in all circumstances – and there is no fudging around that
The feeling among EU officials is they have done everything they possibly can to reach a deal. The scope and shape of the deal on the table is pretty much it. The ball is now firmly in London's court.
The EU has so far held back publishing some of its more dire no-deal preparedness documents. I understand that could change next week.
I understand that at no point was an agreement reached last weekend. London rejected it – May most likely realised she didn’t have the numbers to facedown a potentially fatal cabinet revolt. 
May's challenge – and the hard reality of these Brexit talks regardless of who is PM – is that the need for a backstop will not go away. Her political difficulties at home show no sign of dissipating either, and the clock is ticking.
Full story: buzzfeed.com/albertonardell…
