Notes reveal May is seeking one-year limit on backstop
THERESA MAY is trying to seek a legal guarantee that the customs backstop will last no longer than a year in a bid to win over MPS, according to an official briefing photographed outside No10.
Oliver Robbins, Mrs May’s chief Brexit negotiator, was photographed carrying notes on the backstop, which is intended to prevent a hard Irish border if no deal can be reached.
The issue has triggered a huge backlash by Eurosceptic Tory MPS and led to a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister, supported by 117 Tory MPS, amid concerns that it will tie Britain to the customs union indefinitely.
The notes state that the UK and the EU would commit to retaining the backstop for the “shortest period possible” and suggest that this would be a year “after the end of the transition period” in 2022.
The EU Commission has warned there would be no further concessions, following last week’s summit.
Addressing MPS, the Prime Minister said she had told EU leaders that they needed to “show we never want to use this backstop and if it is used, it must be a temporary arrangement”.
She said: “In response, the EU 27 published a series of conclusions that made clear it’s their firm determination to work speedily on a subsequent agreement that establishes by Dec 31 2020 alternative arrangements so the backstop will not need to be triggered.”
EU leaders had been clear, she said: “They don’t want to use this backstop. They want to agree the best possible future relationship with us. There’s no plot to keep us in the backstop.”