The Prime Minister will be hoping to seal the terms of the nation’s divorce from Brussels when she marches on the city this afternoon to meet with Eurocrat-in-chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

If secured, the forging of the initial Brexit deal will be used as a foundation for trade and treaty talks with the bloc as the UK breaks free from the yoke of the European Union and out into the wider world.

Eurocrats have warned Mrs May that today is the day to agree terms between European and UK officials ahead of an EU summit on December 14, with draft papers for the conference due in just eight days.

It follows months of stalling from the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier over citizen’s rights, the Irish border and the proposed multi-billion pound divorce bill. 

But with Brussels insiders confirming negotiators are “90 per cent” of the way towards an agreement, and Irish officials adding there are “intensive contacts back and forth” between London and Dublin, the Prime Minister is closer to guiding the nation towards freedom from the 27-nation superstate than ever before.

SEE BELOW FOR THE LATEST UPDATES

12.45pm Theresa May meets with Juncker

The Prime Minister has met with Jean Claude Juncker ahead of their crunch talk today as more details of the UK's agreement with Ireland emerge.

After speaking with the Eurocrat in Chief Mrs May will head on to see Donald Tusk.

Meanwhile Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar has scheduled a meeting of all Irish party leaders at 1.30pm, before a stement on negotiations which is due at 2.30pm

12.30pm Lamberts claims Brexit is 'not a negotiation' and Johnson, Farage and Rees-Mogg need to 'come to terms with reality.

Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts has heaped scorn on Brexiteers, claiming the process is not a negotiation and hard Brexit backing politicians need to "come to terms with reality".

He said: "When you decide to leave the European Union, the process is not really a negotiation, it is basically finding the terms under which you can get out, but it is not really a negotiation. 

"I would say it is mostly about enforcing commitments that have been taken."

Asked about concessions, Mr Lamberts said: "You call them concessions, I think the British Government came to terms with reality and that’s a good thing

"I’m sure that if you look at the situation from the perspective of Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage or Jacob Rees-Mogg, probably they will not be very happy but then again they have a problem with reality so bumping into it may be a bit painful but that is again life."

12.15pm MEP confirms Northern Ireland could stay in Customs Union and Single Market

Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts has revealed he has seen drafts of the UK's agreement with Ireland which would leave the North in both the customs union and the single market.

Speaking on Sky News, he said: "The British Government would commit to maintain the full alignment, where pertinent of course.

"So Single Market and Customs Union legislation that might potentially create a border will remain fully aligned so there is not.

As sky news correspondent Faizel Islam noted said the proposal sounded like remaining in the Customs Union and Single market, the MEP agreed.

He added: "It may sound like it, at least for Northern Ireland, but then again that’s the only solution if you want to keep the Good Friday agreement. Period. 

12.05pm Guy Verhofstadt accuses UK of ‘disrespecting’ EU citizens

Following his meeting with Jean Claude-Juncker, Brexit bashing federalist Guy Verhofstadt has accused the UK of disrespecting EU citizens.

In a tweet, he said: "During my meeting with Mr Juncker, I reiterated that EU citizens in the UK should not have to go through an unclear, costly and burdensome procedure.

"Their rights must be guaranteed. They came to the UK in good faith and must be treated with the respect they deserve.

11.50am Theresa May's office attempt to dampen expectations – 'We are looking to the 14th'

A spokesman for the Prime Minister has attempted to limit expectations ahead of Mrs May's meeting with Jean Claude-Juncker.

They claimed the UK wants progress as soon as possible, but is focussed on the European Council summit on 14-15 December.

However as agreement with Ireland progresses, Mrs May could yet break the deadlock in her crunch meeting later today.

11.40am David Davis – Moving talks on now is 'vital'

Brexit secretary David Davis has said moving onto trade talks is vital last the EU summit on the 14th and 15th of December puts pressure on negotiators to set up a deal.

David Davis said: “Well I think it is an important day – the council can always make up its own mind on the 15th but it is an important day. 

“They will take a lot of guidance from the commission, and everyone understands that the decision to move one to trade talks is vital, it is vital to everybody.

“It is of huge value to the 27 members and to ourselves.”

Asked if the PM was getting involved to fight his battles for him, the Brexit secretary laughed off the suggestion.

He added: “The first negotiator in this process from the beginning has been the Prime Minister.

“She laid out the parameters at the Lancaster house speech, she reset the negotiations at the Florence speech.

“That’s all done in conjunction, together.

11.27am Draft of Ireland agreement REVEALED - Single Market and Customs Union on island will continue

A draft text seen by Irish broadcaster RTE news has claimed the UK will concede there will be”continued regulatory alignment" on the island with regards to the single market and the customs union in a major step forward in talks with Dublin.

According to one version of the draft text, which will go towards forming a formal agreement between Dublin and London, the UK will also reaffirm its commitment to the Good Friday agreement.

The draft said: “In the absence of agreed solutions, the UK will ensure that there continues to be no regulatory divergence from those rules of the internal market and customs union which, now or in the future, support North South cooperation +protection of the Good Friday agreement.”

11.00am Brexit campaigners demand no loss of British sovereignty

Brexiteers have called on the Prime Minister to stay true to the peoples choice to leave and ensure the UK gets a clean break from Brussels without too many concessions.

John Longworth, Co-Chair of campaign group Leave Means Leave said: "This is an extremely important moment in the negotiations. 

"The EU has been behaving in an obstructive manner since the British people voted to leave the EU and talks cannot continue like this.

"The PM must make it crystal clear to the EU that either they agree to Britain's Brexit red lines or we will walk away from the talks and revert to WTO rules.

10.45am Jean Claude-Juncker meets with Brexit team

Mr Juncker was seen smiling broadly as he met with chief negotiator Michel Barnier and the European Parliament's Brexit representative Guy Verhofstadt ahead of his meeting with the Prime Minister. 

EU diplomats have reportedly seemed optimistic ahead of the meeting after months of doom-mongering, with some describing ”movement", "traction" and a "lack of negativity" in among the Brussels community.

However Mr Verhofstadt’s outlook was less positive than some of his fellow European Parliamentarians.

The Brexit bashing dutchman said that no deal has yet been reached yet on the terms of Brexit, claiming he sees the likelihood of a deal as 50/50.

10.30am Deal or no deal – Caution from British Brexiteers as talks teeter on the brink

Talks have continued to teeter on the brink as the deadline for the EU's leadership summit looms in the background.

Eurocrats have warned Mrs May that today is the day to agree terms between European and UK officials ahead of an EU summit on December 14, with draft papers for the conference due in just eight days.

One senior EU diplomat told the Financial Times an agreement today was “difficult but possible between people who are reasonable”.

However British negotiators have plotted a more cautious path, saying they are working towards an agreement with a “fair wind” but have not ruled out the EU scuppering progress yet again.

Mrs May’s Brexit team are said to be prepared for more stalling from the bloc if EU officials decide not to grant Theresa May the ability to move on to the bulk of Brexit negotiations.

Government sources have privately admitted a “no deal” scenario with the EU is increasingly likely.

And if talks fail today Mrs May is under huge pressure from hardline eurosceptic Conservatives to quit the negotiations and prepare for World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules which experts believe will benefit the UK economy by £135 billion a year but harm the EU.

The Government unveiled a £3 billion Brexit war chest in the Budget last month to get the UK ready for no deal.

10.00am Leave Means Leave red lines demand May honours the referendum

The Brexit campaign group Leave means Leave, which is backed by more than 50 Tory parliamentarians, has set seven red lines in the talks making it clear Mrs May cannot add to the growing list of compromises she has made in the face of intransigence from the EU.

It also insists that “not a penny should be paid” to the EU in a divorce bill unless Britain gets a free trade deal with no tariffs in exchange.

It notes that Mrs May has “shown immense patience and goodwill” in the talks making a generous offer in her Florence speech that the UK would still provide security for Europe and the UK would stump up the rest of its contributions to the current EU budget cycle worth an estimated £28 billion net.

But the letter said that the EU has “acted in a manner sadly unbecoming of an international body”, making demands for “vast sums of money” but refusing to set out what it will give in return.

The signatories of the letter include former Tory cabinet ministers Lord Lawson, Owen Paterson and John Redwood MP along with the rising star of the Conservative party Jacob Rees-Mogg.