Brexit talks resume as divorce day looms | Inquirer News

Brexit talks resume as divorce day looms

/ 10:20 AM March 05, 2019

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 9, 2018 Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray (L) and other activists stand outside parliament with EU and Union Flags as they protest in Parliament Square in London. - British and Irish ministers said November 2, 2018, they were "very close" to agreeing how to keep open the land border between them after Brexit, which is holding up a divorce deal with the EU. "I think we're very close to resolving it, I certainly hope we are," Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told reporters after talks in Dublin. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP)

AFP FILE

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier meets Britain’s negotiating team on Tuesday as both sides seek a breakthrough with just weeks to go before this month’s ominous divorce deadline.

The sitdown comes after Barnier said on Saturday that the European Union was ready to give London further guarantees to help push a troubled divorce deal through the British parliament.

Article continues after this advertisement

Barnier also suggested European leaders would be amenable to a short “technical” delay in Britain’s departure from the EU, scheduled for March 29, to give parliament time to formally ratify a final divorce deal.

FEATURED STORIES

His small overture to Britain has raised hopes that both sides can find a solution, including to the so-called “backstop” plan for the Irish border, a major sticking point for pro-Brexit MPs.

Barnier, a former French foreign minister, will meet in Brussels with Britain’s attorney general Geoffrey Cox and Brexit minister Stephen Barclay for talks that start at 1700 (1600 GMT).

Article continues after this advertisement

“We’re now at a particularly critical stage in these negotiations,” said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday.

Article continues after this advertisement

‘Running the show’

Article continues after this advertisement

Cox’s presence is seen as central to the meeting, as he will ultimately offer a legal opinion on the Brexit deal and the Irish backstop that could determine whether key MPs in the British parliament will approve the accord.

Earlier disfavorable advice by Cox was viewed as a contributing factor in the defeat of May’s deal by MPs in January.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Cox is running the show,” a senior EU source told AFP.

“We are trying to find a junction between our positions and we are not there yet,” the source added.

But despite that defeat, EU leaders insist that the withdrawal agreement will not be reopened, and talks in Brussels are focused on drafting a separate document to placate doubters in London.

Also raising hopes are the softening positions of several hardline Brexit supporters in May’s Conservative party who have dropped their demand that changes to the backstop be made to the withdrawal treaty itself.

But most of them continue to press for a time limit or exit clause to the backstop. They have also set up a team of lawyers to scrutinize anything that Cox brings back from Brussels.

“Many Tories who dislike May’s deal are reluctantly coming round to the idea of voting for it,” said Eurasia Group analyst Mujtaba Rahman, a former UK official.

“Regardless of what he gets” from Barnier, “Cox will reverse his previous legal advice that the UK could be trapped ‘indefinitely’ in the backstop,” Rahman predicted.

In 2017, Britain invoked Article 50 of EU law, triggering a two-year countdown to Brexit that ends at 11pm (2300 GMT) on March 29.

Both sides are furiously trying to steer away from a dreaded “no-deal” divorce with the EU that could wreak havoc on global markets and create border chaos.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

British MPs last week agreed to give May more time to get her changes from Brussels, but if she cannot get her deal passed by March 12, she has agreed to let parliament vote for a possible Brexit delay./ cbb

TAGS: Brexit, Britain, News

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.