The British Prime Minister Theresa May is in Brussels on Thursday, trying to seek concessions from top European Union officials in relation to the Brexit backstop.
But her chances of a breakthrough are slim, after EU chiefs Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk were both adamant there can be no re-negotiation on the withdrawal agreement.
The latest Brussels talks also come after Mr Tusk said there was a "special place in hell" for those who promoted Brexit without even a plan to carry it out.
He said the EU would not be "making any new offer" to the UK outside of the agreement, and that the Irish border remains the EUs top priority in the process.
"The EU is first and foremost a peace project," he said. "We will not gamble with peace or put a sell-by date on reconciliation."
"This is why we insist on the backstop."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also held talks with the men on Wednesday.
The talks in the Belgian capital come ahead of further House of Commons votes on Mrs May's Brexit deal - which the British government said would take place next Wednesday, if she is successful in Brussels, and on Thursday if she is not.
Donald Tusk made fiery comments on Wednesday | Image: Riccardo Pareggiani/Zuma Press/PA Images
Britain's Daily Telegraph reports, however, that if Mrs May were to negotiate a new deal, she would delay a parliamentary vote on it until just a month before Brexit day, putting pressure on MPs to back it.
The paper claims several UK ministers are understood to have warned her against the delay, which they believe makes extending Article 50 - now being proposed by senior British Labour figures - inevitable.
On the eve of the talks, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has written to her spelling out his price for Labour support in the votes, listing five demands including a customs union and alignment with the single market.
In the talks, Mrs May will say London is examining alternative arrangements to the backstop and considering legal changes that could provide the type of guarantees MPs of all parties have said they need.
She will also pledge that her government now wants urgently to work with the EU to secure such changes and claim the EU shares the UK's commitment to leave with a deal.
After her talks in Brussels, Mrs May will travel to Dublin on Friday for dinner with Mr Varadkar, who has also dismissed her proposals for alternative arrangements to the backstop.
The backstop is a customs plan to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, if a free trade deal between the UK and EU is not reached.
