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(CNN) - You may not have heard it, but brexit is reaching a fairly critical moment. There are few days left before the United Kingdom leaves the European Union (EU), nothing is certain and time is running out.
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So what is going on?
Good question. The United Kingdom and the EU are in secret negotiations, referred to in the jargon of Brexit as "the tunnel", trying to reach an agreement that can be presented this Thursday to the European Council of leaders.
Boris Johnson said from the moment he launched his attempt to be the prime minister of the United Kingdom that he would only negotiate with Brussels if he was willing to facilitate the brexit agreement three times defeated by Theresa May, formally known as the Withdrawal Agreement.
If successful, the next step is for the other 27 EU member states to give their approval or rejection when they meet in Brussels on Thursday.
Morning? That sounds ... soon
Well enough. Although that does not mean that negotiations are not taken seriously. Speculation about what is happening is wild right now.
READ: Brexit, “quo vadis?”: The European Union is impatient with Boris Johnson and the United Kingdom
But the fact that very little official is said is a sign that both parties are eager to reach an agreement. When the EU is angry, its effective information network informs journalists.
The EU may finally decide that there is not enough time to reach an agreement tomorrow, but that it is willing to continue negotiating. At that point, the summit meeting becomes (yet another) extension of brexit.
Did Boris Johnson promise not to delay Brexit under any circumstances?
Did. But it does not depend entirely on him. If the EU27, as the other member states are known, agree on a technical extension for the talks and reach an agreement, they will do so assuming that the United Kingdom will have to request one.
Last month, opposition lawmakers in the United Kingdom passed a bill that would force the United Kingdom to request an extension before 11 pm on Saturday (6 pm ET), if there is no agreement with the EU. That letter does not need to be sent by Johnson himself, but obstructing it would be a clear violation of a clear law.
What happens if there is an agreement?
There is a small possibility that an agreement can be reached. And if so, legislators will have the opportunity to vote on Saturday, when Parliament meets in a special weekend session for the first time in decades. Unfortunately for Johnson, he has several obstacles to overcome before that.
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Any agreement would need the approval of your cabinet. It would have to be agreed by all EU27 member states, which suspect Johnson's motives. Finally, I would have to go through Parliament. Here, Johnson would need to face the moderate and uncompromising brexit, something that Theresa May found impossible.
You will also have to join the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland on board, and the atmosphere is not good. The DUP has been the biggest obstacle to any Brexit deal and its leader, Arlene Foster, wasn't very excited after a 90-minute meeting with Johnson on Tuesday.
So ... what will happen?
Look, I would tell you if I could. The reality is that events are fluid and nobody really knows what is happening. The details of how an agreement could be vary depending on who you talk to, and support for an agreement in both Brussels and Westminster seems fragile.
Basically, everything is possible between Johnson obtaining an agreement and Parliament voting him and the prime minister violating the law and being arrested on live television.
Boris Johnson United Kingdom Theresa May
