Brussels has ruled out striking a "deal in the desert" when Theresa May heads to a summit of European and Arab leaders this weekend.

A senior EU official confirmed its Council President Donald Tusk will meet the prime minister on the fringes of an event in the luxury Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh.

Mrs May was hoping to secure a breakthrough on the Brexit impasse during the 5,000-mile round trip this Sunday.

Image: EU Council President Donald Tusk will meet the PM

But the EU official ruled out any "deal in the desert", because it is an EU-League of Arab States summit, not all the EU member states will be there, and it does not want to.

"This is a very serious issue and it has to be prepared very seriously," they said.


"It's very clear that there'll be no EU session on Brexit in Sharm el Sheikh."

Mrs May's sit-down with Mr Tusk is her only confirmed bilateral on the trip so far.

She will head back to the UK days before another crunch week for Brexit in parliament.

MPs have been promised another vote on her EU divorce deal or a chance to propose and vote on their own suggestions for the course of Brexit by the end of the month.

Downing Street has not confirmed which will take place next week, with a Number 10 spokesperson only telling journalists on Friday: "We are working very hard to bring [a deal] back as soon as possible."

Image: The Commons voted for a deal with the backstop replaced

Mrs May has spoken to 27 EU leaders, and is pencilling in talks with the final one - Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec.

Her spokesperson said she was "setting out the situation in the UK parliament and what needs to change in relation to the backstop".

MPs voted last month to pass a motion that said they approved of the Brexit deal in principle but on the condition the Irish border backstop be replaced with "alternative arrangements".

The backstop is the insurance policy to prevent a hard border reforming on the island of Ireland, if a trade deal cannot be struck in time to avoid this.

Image: MPs will vote again on Brexit next week. Pic: UK Parliament/Mark Duffy

Some of the "alternative arrangements" proposed include setting a time-limit on how long the UK can stay in it, or giving it a unilateral right to pull out.

But both the EU and Ireland have ruled out any changes to the current terms.

Brussels is considering adding a codicil - a legal appendage - in a bid to get round the problem.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March with or without a deal.

A Labour backbench bid led by Yvette Cooper could give the prime minister another hurdle to surpass by 13 March.

If this date is passed and the UK was on course for a no-deal divorce, MPs would get a vote either on endorsing that style of exit or instruct the prime minister to delay Brexit.