UK, EU forge draft divorce deal
LONDON (Reuters) — The United Kingdom struck a draft divorce deal with the European Union (EU) after more than a year of talks, thrusting British Prime Minister Theresa May into a perilous battle over Brexit that could shape her country’s prosperity for generations to come.
While Brussels choreographs the first withdrawal of a sovereign state from the EU, May, a far-from-secure leader hemmed in by opponents in government and her own Conservative party, must now try to get the deal approved by her cabinet and, in the toughest test of all, by the parliament.
Brexiteers in May’s party accused her of surrendering to the EU and said they would vote the deal down while the Northern Irish party, which props up her minority government, questioned whether she would be able to get parliamentary approval.
“These are momentous days and the decisions being taken will have long-lasting ramifications,” said Arlene Foster, leader of the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which keeps the government in power.
“The prime minister must win the support of the cabinet and the House of Commons. Every individual vote will count,” she added.
The British cabinet will meet at 1400 GMT on Wednesday to consider the draft withdrawal agreement, a Downing Street spokesman said after Irish and British media were leaked details of the agreement on the text.
The sterling, which has seesawed since reaching $1.50 just before Britain’s 2016 referendum that saw a 52-48 percent margin for leaving the EU, surged on news of a deal but then erased some gains as opponents lined up to criticize May.
Brexit will pitch the world’s fifth largest economy into the unknown and many fear it will serve to divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional presidency of the United States’ Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.
Supporters of Brexit said that while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the UK to thrive and also enable deeper EU integration without such a powerful reluctant member.
A senior EU official confirmed that a draft text had been agreed upon. EU leaders could meet on Nov. 25 for a summit to seal the Brexit deal if May’s cabinet approves the text, diplomatic sources said.
The EU and the UK need an agreement to keep trade flowing between the world’s biggest trading bloc and the UK, home to the biggest international financial center.
May, an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the turmoil that followed the referendum, however, has struggled to untangle nearly 46 years of EU membership without damaging commerce or upsetting the lawmakers who will ultimately decide the fate of the divorce accord.
By seeking to leave the EU while preserving the closest possible ties, May’s compromise plan has upset Brexiteers, pro-Europeans, Scottish nationalists, the Northern Irish party that props up her government and some of her own ministers.
It is unclear when the parliament might vote on a deal. To get the deal approved, May needs the votes of about 320 lawmakers in the 650seat parliament. She faces a deeply divided government, party, parliament and country.