Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the EU summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium, October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Dario Pignatelli

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called on EU leaders on Thursday to move forward with Brexit talks, underlining their shared support for free trade and promising to remain a strong partner on security.

Hours before the European Union will rule that the Brexit talks have not made enough progress to move to a discussion of the two sides’ future ties, May appealed to leaders over a dinner to signal that the negotiations will move forward.

“We should be optimistic and ambitious about what we can achieve as we share the same set of fundamental beliefs in free trade, rigorous and fair competition, strong consumer rights and high regulatory standards,” she told the leaders, according to a British government official.

“Alongside this I want to be very clear, the United Kingdom is unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe’s security.”