EU okays Brexit deal but May faces uphill task
European Commission chief calls it a sad moment and a tragedy
LONDON: The European Council on Sunday endorsed the twopart Brexit deal in Brussels, but Prime Minister Theresa May faced mounting opposition from MPS of her own party and others who insisted on voting against it in the House of Commons in December.
May warned of “yet more division and uncertainty” if the deal fails to pass through parliament. The increasingly possible scenario is likely to lead to a collapse of the May government, as admitted by foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt.
EU leaders confirmed that the two-part deal (a 585-page leaving agreement and another 26-page political declaration on future ties) is not open to renegotiation, but reiterated their unhappiness that the UK is leaving the EU, scheduled for March 29, 2019.
May began renewed efforts to sell her deal before the vote in Parliament by appealing directly to the British people in a letter to the nation, in the hope that voters will put pressure on their MPS to pass the deal. She insisted that the current deal is in the UK’S national interest.
However, her party MPS as well as opposition leaders signalled strong opposition to it.
The Democratic Unionist Party, on whose support May former her minority government in 2017, declared they would vote against the deal; over 90 ruling Conservative MPS are said to be ready to vote against it.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “This is a bad deal for the country. It is the result of a miserable failure of negotiation that leaves us with the worst of all worlds. It gives us less say over our future, and puts jobs and living standards at risk”.
“That is why Labour will oppose this deal in parliament. We will work with others to block a no-deal outcome, and ensure that Labour’s alternative plan for a sensible deal to bring the country together is on the table.”added Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable: “This is a sad day for everyone involved; the deal the EU have endorsed remains a disaster for the British people. What has been agreed is vague at best and is essentially an agreement to have an agreement”.
“Nobody voted to make themselves poorer and damage the UK’S standing in the world. It is time the Prime Minister granted a People’s Vote, with the option to remain in the EU”.
Several European leaders warned on Sunday that negotiations could not be reopened should the British Parliament reject the deal.
“This is the deal,” said Jeanclaude Juncker, president of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm. “It’s the best deal possible. The European Union will not change its fundamental position.”
“It’s not a moment for jubilation nor celebration; it’s a sad and tragic moment,” he told reporters.
The last words Europe’s leaders had for May after approving her Brexit divorce deal were “good luck!”
Diplomats had taken steps to ensure the summit in Brussels wasn’t to become a negotiating session.
Only seven of the EU’S 27 leaders spoke before May entered the room, behind closed doors on a drizzly Sunday morning in Brussels.