Brexit STALEMATE: Italian diplomat demands Britons 'satisfy EU needs' in BBC debate
BBC Host Mishal Husain urged European Union leaders to pressure negotiator Michel Barnier into being "flexible" with Britain during the last leg of the Brexit talks.
BBC host challenges Italian ambassador on Brexit negotiations
The BBC presenter confronted Italian diplomat Raffaele Trombetta over the "lack of flexibility" shown towards the UK during the Brexit negotiations.
Ms Husain asked the Italian Ambassador to the UK to explain why European Union leaders had not asked chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to be open to British proposals to avoid a no deal scenario.
The BBC Today host said: "At the moment there’s essentially a political choice.
"That political choice could be for EU leaders to say to the negotiators ‘you know what, in the interests of everything that is at stake, particularly the chances of a no deal Brexit, be flexible."
Mr Trombetta argued there is a joint responsibility for both the UK and the EU to find an arrangement for the future after Brexit, insisting he was "positive" a deal will be struck once a viable solution to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Ms Husain continued: "It can be achieved if there is the willingness to show that flexibility which doesn’t appear to be there at the moment.
"Do you feel strongly enough about the Irish border for it to hold up the chance of an orderly exit from the EU, which, if Britain ends up in that position, will affect Italy?"
Mr Trombetta hit back: "It’s not the Irish border itself that is the problem. It is what implies. For the European Union, it is the unity.
Brexit: Britons protest outside Downing St over slow progress
In the interests of everything that is at stake, particularly the chances of a no deal Brexit, be flexible
"We are in an ecosystem where the four freedoms are all part of the ecosystem. We also understand what the Irish border means for Ireland but also for Northern Ireland and the UK."
He added: "If they find a way to satisfy our needs as the European Union and the UK, then we can work on that."
Theresa May will address EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday night on the eve of a crucial summit.
British officials were expecting little progress at the summit, with the Prime Minister understood to be focused on ensuring the technical negotiations between UK and EU officials stay on track.
European Council President Donald Tusk demanded the Prime Minister deliver “concrete proposals” to the negotiating table as he made a stern intervention in the hope of pushing talks forward.
He also ruled out the possibility of a deal being struck, suggesting he has “no grounds for optimism” an agreement can be reached between the UK and EU.
The EU’s most senior official called for a new approach to the negotiations after extraordinary Sunday afternoon talks between Michel Barnier and Dominic Raab produced a new impasse.