There has been no headway at the Brussels summit to break the impasse over the Irish border, indeed the critical political facet to Britain stepping out of the European Union. However, on the equally crucial issue of trade, there appears to have been a measure of forward movement with the British Prime Minister hinting that the UK could extend the Brexit transition period to allow more time for trade talks.

Yet in the absence of a formula on the Irish border, Theresa May may well have dismayed leaders at Brussels. It is a thorny issue both for Britain and Ireland and will thus call for further bouts of negotiations before an agreeable prescription is formulated, perhaps a new map drawn on the contours post a momentous constitutional development. Mrs May may well have caused a flutter in the roost of the EU headquarters.

In a development that immediately provoked the wrath of Brexit supporters, EU officials said that 10 Downing Street had suggested she was “ready to consider” a longer transition period in the hope of “breaking open” the deadlocked talks. Such a move ~ during which time the UK would abide by EU rules but have no say in them ~ has not been ruled out.

Wednesday’s concession by Mrs May came as she pleaded for what she called “courage, trust and friendship” from both sides in her speech to EU leaders. But despite EU Council president Donald Tusk’s earlier demand for “new facts” to “unlock” the negotiations, the Prime Minister did not offer fresh proposals; instead she highlighted the progress already made and the hurdles that remained. “We have shown we can do difficult deals together constructively. I remain confident of a good outcome. The last stage will need courage, trust and leadership on both sides,” she is reported to have told her EU counterparts.

Aside from the conciliatory tone on trade, the dominant impression at the EU headquarters is that she has offered “nothing new in her speech”, going by the response of Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament. The Prime Minister appeared unable to persuade her audience that she could back her conciliatory tone with a substantial offer. The two sides remain deadlocked over the Irish issue, specifically a plan to prevent a hard border on Ireland in the absence of any trade agreement.

EU is against a compromise on a “permanent backstop”, despite British hopes of securing a temporary arrangement to avoid being tied to the EU Customs Union indefinitely. Indeed, the Brexit issue has gone beyond the implications of a referendum that the “Leave” camp had won in June 2016 with a wafer-thin margin. It is more than a little significant that Mrs May wasn’t invited to the dinner over which the EU leaders discussed their next steps on Brexit.