May defends post-brexit outline
Withdrawal must be sealed soon for key endorsements
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May faced wide-ranging criticism from skeptical lawmakers Thursday as she sought to portray a draft agreement on a post-brexit relationship with the European Union as a “good deal for our country.”
Addressing the House of Commons after the publication of a 26-page draft political declaration with the EU on post-brexit relations, May said the agreement will ensure a “smooth and orderly” British departure from the European Union. Britain officially leaves the 28-nation EU — the first country to ever do so — on March 29.
“The draft text that we have agreed with the (European) Commission is a good deal for our country and for our partners in the EU,” May said.
May is due to travel to Brussels on Saturday for further Brexit meetings, including with Commission President Jean-claude Juncker, a day before a summit of the EU’S 27 other leaders at which both the political declaration on post-brexit relations as well as the divorce agreement, which alone has legal status, are expected to be formally signed.
The withdrawal agreement needs to be sealed soon to leave enough time for the European Parliament and the U.K. Parliament to endorse it.
May told lawmakers that the outlines help protect jobs, end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the U.K., give British fishermen more control and avoid the return of a hard border between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
Passage looks precarious, given the number of lawmakers who have expressed discontent with the proposals, notably the 585-page legal treaty that deals with the terms of Britain’s departure, including what the country owes the EU.