LONDON, Feb 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May said on
Sunday she would be “armed with a fresh mandate and new ideas” when she meets
European Union negotiators over her Brexit deal.
EU officials have insisted that the deal is not open for renegotiation.
But May wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that she would be “battling for
Britain and Northern Ireland” in her efforts to get rid of the agreement’s
unpopular backstop provision.
“If we stand together and speak with one voice, I believe we can find the
right way forward,” she said.
The backstop is intended to ensure there is no return to a hard border
with Ireland, but Brexit supporters fear it will keep Britain tied to the
EU’s customs rules.
MPs voted last week to send May back to Brussels to renegotiate the
clause, suggesting her deal would then be able to pass after it was roundly
rejected in parliament last month.
“I am now confident there is a route that can secure a majority in the
House of Commons for leaving the EU with a deal,” she wrote.
“When I return to Brussels I will be battling for Britain and Northern
Ireland, I will be armed with a fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed
determination to agree a pragmatic solution”.
The EU insists that the deal “remains the best and only way to ensure an
orderly withdrawal,” but with the clock running down until the March 29 exit
date the risks of a no-deal Brexit for both Britain and the bloc are coming
into sharp focus.
May said opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn “also believes the potential
indefinite nature of the backstop is an issue”, and that the EU has “already
accepted the principle of ‘alternative arrangements’ superseding the backstop
should it ever be required.”
The backstop would kick in if Britain and the EU have not agreed a trade
deal on their future relationship after a time-limited transition period of
up to two years.
The prime minister rejected accusations that plans to reopen the backstop
talks risked upsetting the Irish peace process.
“Nor do I have time for those who believe the verdict passed by the
British people in 2016 should be overturned before it is even implemented,”
she added, referring to the rump of MPs calling for a second referendum.
“I’m determined to deliver Brexit, and determined to deliver on time — on
March 29, 2019,” she wrote.
May has promised MPs that she will bring any revised deal back to be
voted on by MPs on February 13.