Bloomberg The European Union agreed to start internal preparations for the possibility of Brexit negotiations failing to reach a breakthrough at a crunch December summit, as the former British envoy to the EU said the UK’s trade goals were unrealistic. At a meeting in Brussels, the EU’s 27 governments without Britain approved work to start on their response to the …

Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s effort to form a new government hit a snag as negotiators diverged on European policy and climate change, highlighting the complexity of the unprecedented multi-party talks. While Merkel’s Christian Democrats, her CSU Bavarian sister party, the pro-market Free Democratic Party and the Greens committed to a “strong and united Europe,” negotiators remained apart on the …

Bloomberg Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi ordered the suspension of military operations in areas disputed with the country’s Kurdish minority, the first sign of a rapprochement since their vote for independence last month. The 24-hour ceasefire will allow a joint Iraqi and Kurdish team to deploy federal Iraqi forces to the areas, Abadi said in a statement on Twitter. The …