May fights to save Brexit deal
But EU leaders not open to renegotiation
BRUSSELS — Top European Union officials Tuesday ruled out any renegotiation of the divorce agreement with Britain, as Prime Minister Theresa May fought to save her Brexit deal by lobbying leaders in Europe’s capitals.
May began her quest over breakfast with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, a day after she abandoned a vote in Parliament to secure support for the agreement thrashed out with the EU over more than a year.
She admitted the deal would be rejected in London “by a significant margin.”
Rutte revealed nothing of their conversation, tweeting only that they had “a useful dialogue which saw us discuss the latest Brexit developments.”
But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the agreement— almost 600 pages long, highly technical and legally binding — can’t be re-opened for negotiation at a summit of EU leaders Thursday.
He did say, however, that elements of the deal could still be clarified.
“There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation,” Juncker told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg as he briefed them on the summit.
Juncker, who was to meet May Tuesday night, reiterated that “the deal we have achieved is the best deal possible. It is the only deal possible.”
But he added that “if used intelligently, (there) is room enough to give further clarification and further interpretations without opening the withdrawal agreement.”
EU leaders have often supplemented agreements with political declarations that clarify their interpretation of elements of an accord or provide assurances about how parts of any deal might work.
In Brussels, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen also said that EU countries might be willing to clarify parts of the deal.
“It is always a political option to clarify if that is needed, what is meant, what kind of underlining is needed,” Samuelsen told reporters.