Deadlock remains as EU rebuffs May’s proposals
The U.K. and European Union pushed Brexit talks closer to the brink after Prime Minister Theresa May’s day of negotiations in Brussels failed to make any significant breakthrough.
During a series of tense meetings, May and senior EU officials agreed their negotiating teams would get back round the table by the end of February in an attempt to break the impasse that t h r e at ens to push the U. K. crashing out of the bloc next month without an agreement.
But, with the EU rebuffing May’s requests during Thursday’s talks, there’s no clear solution in sight. European Commission President Jean- Claude Juncker told May he didn’t want to reopen their divorce deal, according to a U.K. official.
With just 50 days to the U.K.’s scheduled exit, May is demanding changes to the so- called Irish border backstop arrangement in the deal that the two sides struck in November but was then rejected by the British Parliament. The backstop is an insurance policy aimed at preventing a hard border on the divided island of Ireland and is the most contentious part of the divorce agreement because it effectively keeps the U.K. bound to EU rules.
“We must secure legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement to deal with the concern Parliament has over the backstop,” May told reporters in Brussels. “Taking back changes to the backstop, together with the other work we’re doing on workers’ rights and other issues, will deliver a stable majority in Parliament and that’s what I’ll continue to work for.”
According to three European officials, May asked several times for the EU to include a time limit on the backstop in a meeting with Juncker and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Thursday. They rejected the idea. Another person, familiar with the U.K. side of the negotiations, had a different summary of the meeting. May raised all three options she’s considering for changing the backstop: alternative arrangements including technological solutions; a time limit; and a unilateral exit clause. She didn’t express a preference for any of the three, the person said.
The deadlock raises the prospect of the negotiations going down to the wire. EU officials said there are currently no plans to arrange an emergency EU summit — necessary if there are changes to the deal or a delay is requested — before a scheduled gathering of leaders March 21-22.