British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to get major changes to a controversial draft Brexit deal from European leaders on Tuesday, a day after she suspended a parliamentary vote on the agreement.

May had intended to get "reassurances" that the deal's controversial backstop arrangement for Northern Ireland was temporary.

But Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker refused to agree to any changes after their separate meetings with the British prime minister.

After his meeting with May, Tusk wrote on Twitter that EU leaders want to help May get parliamentary approval, but that "the question is how."

Key points on Tuesday:

May met Tusk and Juncker after meeting Merkel in Berlin and Rutte in the Netherlands.

Merkel told conservative CDU/CSU lawmakers after her meeting with May that "there will be no further renegotiation," DPA news agency reported.

The contentious Northern Irish backstop clause remains a major sticking point for pro-Brexit lawmakers who argue that it could leave Britain tied to the EU indefinitely.

At home, May faces a rebellion within her own Conservative Party, mainly over the controversial backstop. She called off a planned parliamentary vote on the accord — set for Tuesday — at the last minute on Monday in a bid to drum up more support beforehand.

Updates (all times in Central European Time, GMT+1)



14:10 The UK's Junior Brexit Minister Robin Walker has said that parliament will discuss the government’s next steps ahead, even if there is no deal to approve before January 21.

"In the unlikely and highly undesirable circumstances that as of 21st January there is no deal before the house, the government would bring a statement to the house and arrange for a debate as specified by the law," said Walker.

Theresa May's spokesman James Slack said earlier that Prime Minister Theresa May would bring back her deal to the House of Commons "before January 21."

13:45 May's arrival was somewhat jinxed, with her car door jammed for some moments as Merkel waited on the red carpet. Just another example of things not going quite as UK prime minister would hope.

13:40 Guntram Wolff from the Brussels think tank Bruegel has told DW that the EU will not offer May anything that could reopen the possibility of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. "There is no other solution than the one already on the table," he said. "The British acted as if they could square the circle for a long time. Now they realize they can't."

Read more: Brexit deal: What Germany wants, what Theresa May can get

13:30 Theresa May has arrived at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. The chancellor greeted May with a handshake as the British prime minister forged ahead with her mini-tour, visiting the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium on Tuesday. No statements or news conferences were planned after their meeting.



13.20 DW's Kate Brady says there's a damp reception awaiting Theresa May in Berlin.

13:00 A man has been detained by armed police outside the UK parliament. It's unclear whether or not the incident is related to Brexit.

12:50 The UK's Press Association has quoted Theresa May's spokesman James Slack as saying that she will bring her deal back to the House of Commons "before January 21."

Slack said May's meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had been "very productive."

12:25 Theresa May has landed in the German capital, Berlin, and is on her way to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

12:00 Britain wants "legally binding" assurances from EU leaders it will not be trapped indefinitely in their customs union by the Irish "backstop" clause.

Martin Callanan, a junior minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union, was speaking on arrival in Brussels for talks.

On Monday, May postponed a bid to get the Brexit deal she negotiated with EU leaders last month through parliament. In the meantime, she now wants new reassurances over the emergency backstop clause.

Jean-Claude Juncker earlier said the deal could not be renegotiated, only open to "further clarification and further interpretations."

11.:50 DW's Barbara Wesel believes Theresa May feels that — as in Monty Python's dead parrot sketch — her Brexit deal isn't deceased, just in need of some time out.

11:05 Theresa May has left The Hague and is headed for talks in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel. In The Hague, the British prime minister had breakfast with Prime Minister Mark Rutte but made no public comment about the content of their discussions.

10:40 Ireland has said it will ramp up plans for a no-deal Brexit. Foreign Minister Simon Coveney on Tuesday said this included accelerating the recruitment of customs officials and veterinary inspectors to work at ports and airports.

Meanwhile, Germany's VDMA engineering association claims that the chances of avoiding a hard Brexit are shrinking by the day, so firms should urgently prepare for such a scenario.

Read more: Brexit chaos leaves business leaders across Europe dismayed

The scenario of a no-deal Brexit will be on the agenda at a meeting of European leaders on Thursday, European Council President Donald Tusk has said.

09:59 Michael Roth, a Social Democrat and junior minister at Germany's foreign office, told reporters on Tuesday that he did not see any scope for changes to the proposed agreement on Brexit. Roth stressed that, although May was set to visit Chancellor Angela Merkel later in the day, the chief negotiators were in Brussels rather than Berlin.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe June 2016: 'The will of the British people' After a shrill referendum campaign, nearly 52% of British voters opted to leave the EU on June 23. Polls had shown a close race before the vote with a slight lead for those favoring remaining in the EU. Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned for Britain to stay, acknowledged the "will of the British people" and resigned the following morning.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe July 2016: 'Brexit means Brexit' Former Home Secretary Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister on July 11 and promised the country that "Brexit means Brexit." May had quietly supported the Remain campaign before the referendum. She did not initially say when her government would trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty to start the two-year talks leading to Britain's formal exit.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe March 2017: 'We already miss you' May eventually signed a diplomatic letter over six months later on March 29, 2017 to trigger Article 50. Hours later, Britain's ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow, handed the note to European Council President Donald Tusk. Britain's exit was officially set for March 29, 2019. Tusk ended his brief statement on the decision with: "We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye."

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe June 2017: And they're off! British Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, kicked off talks in Brussels on June 19. The first round ended with Britain reluctantly agreeing to follow the EU's timeline for the rest of the negotiations. The timeline split talks into two phases. The first would settle the terms of Britain's exit, and the second the terms of the EU-UK relationship post-Brexit.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe July-October 2017: Money, rights and Ireland The second round of talks in mid-July began with an unflattering photo of a seemingly unprepared British team. It and subsequent rounds ended with little progress on three phase one issues: How much Britain still needed to pay into the EU budget after it leaves, the post-Brexit rights of EU and British citizens and whether Britain could keep an open border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe December 2017: Go-ahead for phase 2 Leaders of the remaining 27 EU members formally agreed that "sufficient progress" had been made to move on to phase two issues: the post-Brexit transition period and the future UK-EU trading relationship. While Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her delight at the decision, European Council President Tusk ominously warned that the second stage of talks would be "dramatically difficult."

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe July 2018: Johnson, Davis resign British ministers appeared to back a Brexit plan at May's Chequers residence on July 6. The proposal would have kept Britain in a "combined customs territory" with the EU and signed up to a "common rulebook" on all goods. That went too far for British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis, who resigned a few days later. May replaced them with Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe September 2018: No cherries for Britain May's Chequers proposal did not go down well with EU leaders, who told her at a summit in Salzburg in late September that it was unacceptable. EU Council President Tusk trolled May on Instagram, captioning a picture of himself and May looking at cakes with the line: "A piece of cake perhaps? Sorry, no cherries." The gag echoed previous EU accusations of British cherry-picking.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe November 2018: Breakthrough in Brussels EU leaders endorsed a 585-page draft divorce deal and political declaration on post-Brexit ties in late November. The draft had been widely condemned by pro- and anti-Brexit lawmakers in the British Parliament only weeks earlier. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned along with several other ministers, and dozens of Conservative Party members tried to trigger a no-confidence vote in May.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe December 2018: May survives rebellion In the face of unrelenting opposition, May postponed a parliamentary vote on the deal on December 10. The next day, she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to seek reassurances that would, she hoped, be enough to convince skeptical lawmakers to back the deal. But while she was away, hard-line Conservative lawmakers triggered a no-confidence vote. May won the vote a day later.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe January 2019: Agreement voted down The UK Parliament voted 432 to 202 against May's Brexit deal on January 16. In response to the result, European Council President Donald Tusk suggested the only solution was for the UK to stay in the EU. Meanwhile, Britain's Labour Party called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister, her second leadership challenge in as many months.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe March 2019: Second defeat for May's deal May tried to get legal changes to the deal's so-called Irish backstop in the weeks that followed. She eventually got assurances that the UK could suspend the backstop under certain circumstances. But on March 12, Parliament voted against the revised Brexit deal by 391 to 242. EU leaders warned the vote increased the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. Two days later, MPs voted to delay Brexit.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe March 2019: Extension after second defeat Following the second defeat of May's divorce deal, the European Council met in Brussels on March 21 to decide what to do next. EU leaders gave May two options: delay Brexit until May 22 if MPs vote for the withdrawal deal or delay it until April 12 if they vote against the deal. If the deal were to fail again in Parliament, May could ask for a long extension.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe March 2019: Brexit deal rejected a third time On March 29, the day that the UK was supposed to leave the EU, British lawmakers voted for a third time against May's deal — rejecting it this time with a vote of 344 to 286. Following the latest defeat, May approached the main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise, angering hardline Brexiteers in her own Conservative party.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe April 2019: Brexit delayed until Halloween With the April 12 deadline looming after the third defeat of May's deal, EU leaders met again in Brussels to discuss a second delay. The only question was how long should it be? In the end, the UK and EU agreed to a "flexible" extension until October 31 — which can end sooner if the Brexit deal is approved. The UK had to take part in EU elections in May because their exit wasn't secured in time.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe May 2019: Prime Minister Theresa May resigns Weeks of talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and the Labour party to reach a deal proved unsuccessful and further eroded her political capital. She triggered an angry backlash from her party after she tried to put the option of a second referendum on the table. The series of failures led May to announce her resignation, effective June 7, in an emotional address.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe June 2019: Search for a new prime minister After Theresa May announced on June 7 that she would leave office, other members of her Conservative party began clamoring for the top job. Within a month, the leadership battle came down to Jeremy Hunt (left), an EU proponent who fears a no-deal scenario, and Boris Johnson (right), one of the main proponents of Brexit.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe July 2019: Prime Minister Boris Johnson At the end of July 2019, Johnson was officially named Theresa May's successor as British prime minister. "We are going to energize the country, we are going to get Brexit done by October 31," he said after he was elected leader of the Conservative Party.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe September 2019: Johnson's election threat Conservative rebels and opposition MPs backed efforts to delay an October 31 Brexit deadline in fear of a no-deal departure. In response, Johnson called for a general election, saying his government cannot rule without a mandate after he stripped 21 rebel MPs of their Conservative status. The Labour Party said it would not back elections until legislation to block a no-deal Brexit was in place.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe September 2019: Prorogation 'unlawful' In late September, Britain's highest court ruled that Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament ahead of the UK's planned exit was unlawful. "This was not a normal prorogation in the run-up to a Queen's Speech," said the Supreme Court. Political rivals immediately called on Johnson to leave his post. Johnson said he would abide by the court ruling, though said he "strongly" disagreed.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe October 2019: A new deal British Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to secure a deal with European negotiators that would allow the UK to leave the EU in an orderly manner. The deal received unanimous backing from the leaders of 27 other member states. But an attempt to get the UK Parliament to sign off on the deal failed. Instead, Parliament pushed for the Brexit deadline to be extended until the end of January 2020.

Brexit timeline: Charting Britain's turbulent exodus from Europe December 2019: Lawmakers vote for Johnson's Withdrawal Bill On December 22, UK lawmakers vote for Prime Minister Johnson's European Union withdrawal bill, which will see a leave date of January 31 2020 enshrined in law. Getting a majority to vote to pass the bill in the lower house has proven a major sticking point for the PM, but following a general election Johnson's Conservative party won control of the house and the bill passed with a 124 majority.



09:35 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said he is ruling out any renegotiation of the divorce agreement. However, he did say there was room for "further clarification and further interpretations without opening the withdrawal agreement."

09:20 Theresa May arrives at The Hague residence of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as part of her efforts to rescue her Brexit deal.

Read more: Opinion: A Monty Python madhouse in Westminster