Skeptical EU leaders to hear May's plea for a Brexit delay

Prime Minister Theresa May was trying to persuade European Union leaders on Thursday to delay Brexit by up to three months, with her plans to leave the bloc in chaos just eight days before Britain's scheduled departure.

May will meet the 27 national other EU leaders in Brussels, a day after she wrote requesting an extension to the Brexit deadline until June 30.

The bloc is weary of Britain's political soap opera over Brexit. EU Council chief Donald Tusk, who is overseeing the summit, said a short delay should be possible, but only if Britain's Parliament approves May's divorce deal with the EU before the scheduled March 29 departure date.

That is a tall order. The deal has twice been rejected twice by hefty margins in Britain's Parliament, amid opposition from pro-Brexit and pro-EU lawmakers.

May said lawmakers now face a "final choice" between her deal, a no-deal departure that could hammer the economy, and cancelling Brexit.

But the prime minister angered many legislators with a televised speech late Wednesday blaming Parliament for the Brexit impasse.

May told voters weary of a Brexit saga that has dragged on for almost three years: "You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and done with. I agree. I am on your side."

She didn't accept a role in causing the impasse, but blamed Parliament and warned that if lawmakers didn't back her deal it would cause "irreparable damage to public trust."

Pro-EU Conservative lawmaker Sam Gyimah called May's comments "toxic."

"Resorting to the 'blame game' as the PM is doing is a low blow," he said.

Main U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is also meeting senior EU officials in Brussels, trying to persuade them that Parliament can find an alternative to May's rejected plan.

"I believe it should be possible to agree a deal with the EU that secures a close economic relationship before the European Parliament elections," Corbyn said.

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MADRID (AP) — British and Spanish foreign ministers said a new round of talks held Friday over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain’s exit from the European Union were productive and significant progress was made.

The meeting was between Spain's José Manuel Albares, Britain’s David Cameron and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also attended. It was the first time representatives from the four areas had come together for talks on the issue.

In a statement after the meeting, the parties said "discussions took place in a constructive atmosphere, with significant progress achieved.

“General political lines have been agreed (on), including on airport, goods and mobility. Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks to conclude the EU-UK Agreement,” it added.

All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June.

Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. Talks on a deal to ensure people and goods can keep flowing over the Gibraltar-Spain border have made halting progress in the 19 rounds of negotiations so far, but both Spanish and U.K. officials have recently expressed optimism about a deal.

In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU. The tiny territory on Spain's southern tip depends greatly on access to the EU market for its 34,000 inhabitants.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations concerning the Rock, as it is popularly referred to in English, have had their ups and downs over the centuries.

A major sticking point has been who controls Gibraltar’s airport, which under the proposed free-movement deal would be an external border of the EU. The U.K. and Gibraltar have resisted Spain’s insistence that Spanish border officials be based at the airport, which is also home to a Royal Air Force base.

The British Foreign Office said Thursday that while it did not expect a final agreement Friday, "getting senior political figures from the UK, European Commission, Spain and Gibraltar in one room is significant.”

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless reported from London.