“The deal… is not going to change.”
Following Theresa May’s decision to postpone the recent House of Commons vote on her Brexit deal, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, has said in response: “We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification.”
The British prime minister has faced strong criticism for her decision to defer the vote, which has been called a “national humiliation.”
I have decided to call #EUCO on #Brexit (Art. 50) on Thursday. We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification. As time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario.
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) December 10, 2018
During her most recent address, May admitted that she would have lost the vote on her Brexit deal and said that “if we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow the deal would be rejected by a significant margin”.
May will now travel to Europe in the hope of securing new reassurances from EU leaders to allay the concerns of British MPs about the proposed backstop arrangements for the border.
However, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Simon Coveney, and EU Council president Donald Tusk have all made it clear there can be no renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement.
Varadkar and Tusk have also agreed to “intensify” preparations for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
During a recent phone call, both men agreed that the Withdrawal Agreement was the best option, and that it could not be renegotiated.
Speaking on Monday, the Taoiseach said: “What I can say is that the withdrawal agreement, including the Irish backstop, is the only agreement on the table. It took over a year and a half to negotiate, it has the support of 28 governments, and it is not possible to re-open any aspect of that agreement without opening all aspects.”
Tánaiste Simon Coveney added: “The deal… is not going to change. Particularly the legal language of the withdrawal treaty. I hope people will see it for what it is, which is a fair, balanced document.”
A spokesperson for the European Commission also said that it would not renegotiate its Brexit agreement with Mrs May.
“We have an agreement on the table. We will not renegotiate.”
The British prime minister will meet the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin today. She’s also scheduled to meet with Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, and the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, over the coming days.
With regards to the UK government, Labour suggested that they would table a vote of no confidence in May if she failed in these upcoming negotiations.
Downing Street also said the vote on any potential Brexit deal could be delayed until January. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU at 11pm on Friday, 29 March 2019.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
