Brussels, Dec 14: Prime Minister Theresa May will urge European Union leaders Thursday to approve an agreement to move Brexit talks on to a second phase, hours after an embarrassing parliamentary defeat at home that weakens her hand.
At the beginning of a dinner in Brussels, May will repeat her case for unlocking talks to unravel more than 40 years of union to allow for the discussion of future trade relations, which she sees as crucial to offering certainty for businesses.
The 27 other EU leaders are all but certain to approve the deal to move to second phase Friday, after May has left Brussels, launching a new stage of talks that could be hampered by divisions at home and differences with the EU.
Acknowledging the tough negotiations ahead, Donald Tusk, chairman of the EU leaders, warned them that only their unity displayed so far in the Brexit talks would deliver a good deal.
“I have no doubt that the real test of our unity will be the second phase of Brexit talks,” Tusk told reporters in Brussels.
A senior British government official said that the prime minister would press for a quick agreement on a transition deal to allow businesses to adapt to life after Brexit.
“The Prime Minister will say that reaching the agreement on phase one has required give and take on both sides but a fair outcome has been achieved,” the official told reporters.
Phase one covered Britain’s bill to the EU, the border with Ireland and the status of EU citizens in Britain.
After days of often fraught diplomacy, May rescued the initial deal last Friday, easing the concerns of her Northern Irish allies over the wording to protect a free border with EU member Ireland without separating the province from the UK.
Then, EU negotiators said the talks had made “sufficient progress”, a recommendation that will, barring accidents, be blessed by the leaders of the other member states.
Her success has won her some respite at home from political infighting between enthusiasts and sceptics of Brexit in her ruling party, and has reduced the prospect of a disorderly departure from the bloc.
But there are hurdles still to negotiate. May and her cabinet are due next Tuesday to hold a discussion of senior ministers’ competing views on Britain’s future outside the EU – to remain close to the bloc or forge a new path.
She also faces a newly emboldened parliament after rebels in her own party joined forces with opposition lawmakers to demand that Parliament not the government gets the final say on the deal – a defeat they may try to repeat next week when May puts Britain’s departure date into a bill to sever ties. (Reuters)
