EU and peers in double blow to May’s under-fire Chequers Brexit plans
But May insists Chequers is the only way to a deal
THERESA MAY’S troubled Chequers Brexit plan was hit with a double blow yesterday after the EU told her to rework it and peers said it would take years to implement.
The Prime Minister’s hopes of a Brexit breakthrough at a summit of EU leaders in Salzburg were dashed when European Council President Donald Tusk told her the blueprint was a “welcome evolution” in the UK’s approach but major issues remained to be resolved including avoiding a hard border in Ireland and the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU.
And while, the PM insists it is the only credible plan on the table, the Lords EU Committee said there were still “significant questions” which need answering.
In particular it pointed to concerns over the proposal for a “facilitated customs arrangement” (FCA) after Britain leaves the EU which lies at the heart of the plan.
Peers said its dual tariff system, with either the UK or the EU tariff being charged on goods and businesses claiming the difference back depending on the final destination, would take “several years to be developed and implemented” and was “untested”.
Baroness Verma, the chair of the EU external affairs sub-committee, said: “The Government must, as a matter of urgency, provide answers to questions on the FCA.”
BRITAIN AND the EU remain at loggerheads over proposals to maintain a soft Irish border after Brexit despite Theresa May’s diplomatic push to get leaders behind her Chequers plan.
The Prime Minister’s hopes of a substantial breakthrough at a major summit in Salzburg summit yesterday were dashed when she was told by European Council President Donald Tusk that key elements of the proposals had to be “reworked”.
Mrs May later used a dinner with EU leaders to set out her case and will hold one-on-one talks with Ireland’s premier Leo Varadkar and Mr Tusk today, when the 27 other EU leaders will discuss Brexit in her absence over lunch.
Warning that there was “less and less time” to reach a deal before the UK’s March 29, 2019 exit date, Mr Tusk confirmed he would propose an emergency EU Brexit summit in November. He said that on key issues including the Irish border, “the UK’s proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated”.
But arriving at the meeting in Salzburg, Mrs May said Chequers was “the only credible and negotiable plan on the table that delivers no hard border in Northern Ireland and also delivers on the vote of the British people”.
She added: “If we are going to achieve a successful conclusion then, just as the UK has evolved its position, the EU will need to evolve its position too.”
Ahead of the summit in Austria, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was ready to come forward with a new offer on the Irish border.
However, Mrs May’s Democratic Unionist Party allies poured cold water on the suggestion and the Prime Minister stressed she would not be prepared to accept anything that resulted in Northern Ireland effectively being “carved away” from the rest of the UK.
In order to “de-dramatise” the main obstacle to a withdrawal deal, Mr Barnier suggested arrangements could be made to conduct the majority of checks on imports and exports away from the border itself.
The DUP, which props up Mrs May’s minority administration in Parliament, dismissed Mr Barnier’s proposals as unpalatable, because they would involve a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
“It still means a border down the Irish Sea although with different kinds of checks,” said the party’s deputy leader Nigel Dodds.
Mrs May said: “I welcome the fact that Michel Barnier is recognising the need to find a new solution because the original proposal put forward by the European Commission was unacceptable to us.
“We have always recognised that there are unique circumstances that apply in Northern Ireland – for example in relation to checks for some agricultural products. But what we cannot accept is seeing Northern Ireland carved away from the UK customs territory because regardless of where the checks would be, what that would mean would be that it would be a challenge to our constitutional and economic integrity.”
Mrs May meanwhile slapped down any suggestion she could call a so-called People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal, as demanded by several MPs.
The PM said: “I want to be absolutely clear, this Government will never accept a second referendum. The British people voted to leave the European Union and we will be leaving on March 29, 2019.”
Elsewhere, the domestic difficulties facing Mrs May – which EU leaders are all too aware of – were further illustrated as it emerged her former Brexit Secretary David Davis has described Chequers as a “non-starter”.
In extracts of a speech he plans to deliver in Munich today, Mr Davis said the PM’s plan crossed all of her own negotiating red lines.
He said: “Chequers is devoid of democracy altogether. This is why many of us will shortly be presenting an alternative plan which will outline a more ambitious vision.”
Just as the UK has evolved its position the EU will need to. Prime Minister Theresa May’s message for her counterparts in Europe.