'The Irish Gordian knot': How the newspapers reacted to collapse of Brexit border deal

Theresa May is engaged in a race against the clock to find the key to break deadlock in Brexit talks.

The Prime Minister's hopes of securing agreement on the terms of Britain's EU withdrawal were dashed on Monday when the Democratic Unionist Party refused to accept proposals which would have shifted Northern Ireland's customs border to the Irish Sea.

Mrs May is planning to return to Brussels before the end of the week, with time running out to persuade leaders of the remaining 27 EU nations at a summit on December 14-15 that "sufficient progress" has been made on divorce issues to move Brexit negotiations on to their second phase.

This will deal with trade and the transition to a new relationship.

Here's how the newspapers reacted around in Britain and elsewhere in Europe. 

Ireland

Irish Independent

Irish Times

 Irish Examiner

Belgium

De Morgan

This Flemish publication in Belgium led with the Brexit talks on its front page, declaring that Mrs May has become "entangled" in the Irish dispute. 

De Tijd

A paper that focuses on business and economics, De Tijd's main photo on the front page was of Mrs May and Jean-Claude Juncker, under the headline: "Brexit deal over Ireland collapses immediately."

 De Standaard

Although not on the front page, De Standaard ran a spread on the dispute on pages 2 and 3. Highlighting the complexity of the dispute, it called it the "Irish Gordian knot." 

Le Soir

On the front page of Le Soir, the headline said: "Brexit: the wait continues for an agreement."

Britain

The Telegraph

The Guardian

The Times

Daily Mirror

The Independent

Metro

Financial Times

The Herald

The National

Italy

Il Gazzettino

Some of Italy's papers also carried Brexit on the front pages, with Il Gazzettino's leading with the row under the headline: "London and Europe skip the deal."  

Il Massaggero

Il Massaggero carried the story on page 1, declaring that Brexit had stalled on the issue of Ireland's borders.