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Days from summit, May takes Brexit battle to Brussels
BRUSSELS, Nov 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Theresa May will briefly escape the
Westminster bear pit to bring her Brexit battle to Brussels on Wednesday,
just four days before the divorce deal is to be signed.
After enduring another parliamentary grilling at prime minister’s questions
in London, the British leader will cross the Channel to visit EU Commission
president Jean-Claude Juncker.
Having seen off — at least for now — a potential leadership challenge by
hardline Brexiteers in her own party, she now hopes to wring out of Brussels
a Brexit arrangement that she can sell to her parliament.
The withdrawal treaty itself is all but final, and preparations are under
way for a summit on Sunday to sign it, but there remains the matter of a
parallel 20-page political declaration on future EU-UK ties.
European diplomats and EU officials have been in intense talks on the
political declaration this week. One of them told AFP that they now expect to
publish it on Thursday morning, after May’s afternoon tea talks with Juncker.
Neither side has much wiggle room left to polish the text, but May must
show that she has left nothing on the table if she is to convince British
members of parliament to ratify the deal in the coming weeks.
– Spain, N. Ireland pressure –
May faces pressure from her Northern Irish allies, who oppose a deal they
say weakens British sovereignty in their province, and from Spain, which
warned it might oppose the accord over the issue of Gibraltar.
Two of May’s top ministers quit last week, including her Brexit secretary,
while MPs from all parties came out against it — increasing the chances that
Britain will crash out of the Union on March 29 without an agreement.
A minister who opposed Brexit and who returned to May’s cabinet in a
reshuffle triggered by the resignations, tried to rule out this economically
disruptive scenario Wednesday in a BBC radio interview.
“It is my view that the parliament, the House of Commons, will stop no deal
… There isn’t a majority in the House of Commons to allow that to take
place,” Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said.
Rudd argued that parliament should back May’s exit deal to restore
certainty ahead of the March 29 deadline, but other MPs from both May’s
Conservatives and the opposition are lobbying for a second referendum to
perhaps reverse Brexit.
The withdrawal deal covers Britain’s financial settlement, expatriate
citizens’ rights, contingency plans to keep open the Irish border and the
terms of a post-Brexit transition.
Officials are now racing to agree the accompanying outline statement on the
future trading and security relationship for after Britain leaves the EU’s
single market and customs union in March.
– ‘Show our displeasure’ –
Opposition to the agreement is also building in the pro-Brexit camp.
On Monday, MPs from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
abstained on three budget votes in the Commons and voted against a fourth, in
apparent defiance of their deal to back the government on finance matters.
Anti-Europe Conservatives have also savaged the divorce deal, which they
say keeps Britain too close to the EU.
Rebels led by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg failed in their attempt to force an
immediate confidence vote in May’s leadership, but warned they would keep
trying.
The withdrawal agreement sets out plans for a 21-month transition after
Brexit, in which Britain and the EU want to turn their outline agreement on
the future relationship into a full trade deal.
But controversially, it says that if that deal is not agreed in time,
Britain will adopt a “backstop” arrangement to keep open its land border with
Ireland.
This would keep all of Britain in the EU’s customs union, and Northern
Ireland also in parts of the single market.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1630 hrs