EU preparing for a no-deal scenario ‘as it’s now more likely’
BRITAIN is “more likely than ever before” to crash out of the European Union without a deal, Brussels has warned.
European Council president Donald Tusk was speaking just hours after Theresa May refused to tell MPs when her Irish ‘backstop’ would come to an end if there was no Brexit deal.
The Prime Minister insisted agreement is still “achievable” despite deadlock in negotiations ahead of a crunch summit.
Mrs May called for “cool, calm heads to prevail” after talks last weekend failed to bridge differences between the UK and EU over the future status of the border in Ireland.
And she warned of the danger that failure to reach agreement over the border could result in the UK leaving the EU without a deal in March next year.
Mrs May said progress had been made on Northern Ireland but two problems remain — the EU’s demands over the Northern Ireland backstop and the need for a time limit.
Mrs May’s backstop proposal features a temporary arrangement keeping the whole of the UK in a customs union, which she expects to be lifted by the end of 2021. But she refused to give a firm guarantee the backstop would definitely expire by December 2021.
Ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was heckled by Opposition MPs before asking Mrs May to confirm the UK would “take back control” in December 2021.
“If that isn’t the deadline, could she say when it is,” he said.
The PM said: “I continue to believe what we should all be doing is working to ensure the backstop never comes into place and that actually it’s not December 2021 we’re talking about but January 1, 2021.”
Mrs May confirmed that was her “expectation”, adding one of the issues still under discussion was “how we can ensure we do reflect the temporary nature of the backstop”, which she went on to add should not be necessary.
DUP Westminster leader Nigel Dodds pressed the PM to reiterate that the UK will leave the EU “together with no part hived off either in the single market or customs union differences”.
Mrs May replied: “We will be leaving the European Union together.”
Shortly afterwards, Mr Tusk said that while there was good will on both sides, the negotiations have been more complicated than expected.
A group of Cabinet ministers met last night to discuss the developments, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Environment Secretary Michael Gove among those who attended.
Mrs May will address the leaders of the remaining 27 EU nations tomorrow before they discuss over dinner without her how to proceed in the talks.
In a letter to EU leaders ahead of the summit, Mr Tusk said: “As things stand today, it has proven to be more complicated than some may have expected. We should nevertheless remain hopeful and determined, as there is good will to continue these talks on both sides.
“But at the same time, responsible as we are, we must prepare the EU for a no-deal scenario, which is more likely than ever before. Like the UK, the Commission has started such preparations, and will give us an update during the meeting.”