Brexit: May gears up to save deal as vote nears
British Prime Minister seeks ‘further assurances’ from EU
LONDON: Faced with continuing opposition from political friends and foes alike, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday said she is working on getting further assurances from the European Union (EU) to ensure the Brexit deal is passed in Parliament on January 15.
The first day of the winter session saw a repeat of the cut-andthrust between pro and antiBrexit forces, while an EU spokesperson in Brussels said the agreement will not be renegotiated - “everything on the table has been approved and... the priority now is to await events” in the UK.
Without legally binding assurances that the so-called “backstop” for Northern Ireland will not be in place indefinitely, the agreement is unlikely to be endorsed by Parliament.
Its passage through Parliament is necessary to turn it into a treaty between the UK and EU.
The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29, adding pressure on various stakeholders to ensure that an agreement is in place to oversee future arrangements between the two that have had a symbiotic relationship since 1973, when the UK joined the EU.
PM May said she is working on getting further assurances from the EU, so she can satisfy recalcitrant MPs. According to her, there has been “some further movement from the EU”, but she did not elaborate. She said “further measures” would be set out before the vote on January 15.
May did not respond to an urgent question tabled by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn “on progress made in achieving legal changes to the EU withdrawal agreement and the timetable in this House for the meaningful vote”, but is due to face him during Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday.
Brexit secretary Stephen Bar- clay responded to Corbyn, insisting that EU leaders went further than before in giving assurances that the backstop would be temporary during their summit in December.
He said May has had conversations with EU leaders, adding that the government will set out the assurances it had received before the debate starts on Wednesday.
Also, Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar stepped up efforts within the EU to help May gain the support to pass the agreement.
A “no-deal Brexit” is deemed to be the worst-case scenario, with implications for the UK’s GDP, prices, supply of medicines from Europe, movement of British and European citizens within Europe, and the ability of UK-based banks to operate across Europe.
Britain has begun testing how its motorway and ferry system would handle a no-deal Brexit by sending a stream of trucks from a regional airport to the port of Dover. The tests began on Monday morning.