British PM says rejecting her deal could mean no Brexit

NewsBharati    22-Nov-2018
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London, November 22: British Prime Minister Theresa May has told lawmakers today that rejecting her Brexit deal with the European Union would mean uncertainty and division. Her statement has come before a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to help finalize the Brexit agreement.


 

The UK and the European Union agreed last week on a 585-page document sealing the terms of Britain's departure. However, they are still working to nail down an agreement on future relations. EU leaders are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Sunday to rubber-stamp the package.

Pro-Brexit and pro-EU British lawmakers on both sides of the debate are opposing the deal. Brexiteers think it will leave the UK tied too closely to EU rules, while pro-Europeans say it will erect new barriers between Britain and the EU, its neighbor and biggest trading partner.

Recently, She met three other EU leaders in Brussels at a NATO dinner. EU officials and diplomats tried to play down speculation on an imminent deal after an Austrian newspaper report that a deal could be reached “in the coming days” sent the pound higher.

“Parts of the withdrawal agreement still require further negotiation, in particular the issue of avoiding a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland,” an EU document said on Thursday before the bloc’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier debriefs national ministers.

Some diplomats said they felt more optimistic than earlier in the week about seeing a deal completed this month. But one senior EU official told Reuters: “A deal is certainly not done. There’s a bit of progress on the backstop but we’ve no idea if it will fly in London. Both sides are still talking, which is good, but we haven’t been told that a deal is imminent.