No deal ‘more likely than ever’ says EU as Theresa May is given another chance to sell her Brexit plan
Theresa May will be given one final chance to sell her Brexit plan to the EU on Wednesday – with a warning from Brussels that no deal is “more likely than ever before”.
European Council president Donald Tusk has invited the Prime Minister to address her EU counterparts in a bid to persuade them to push forward with the negotiations.
In a letter to EU leaders, Tusk struck a downbeat tone as he said talks have stalled since a meeting at Salzburg last month in which May’s plan was dismissed as not viable.
Negotiations are currently in a state of deadlock over what form a ‘backstop’ should take to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland if a trade deal is not ready by the time the transition period expires at the end of December 2020.
In his letter, Tusk said: “As you remember from Salzburg, we wished for maximum progress and results that would lead to a deal in October. As things stand today, it has proven to be more complicated than some may have expected.
“We should nevertheless remain hopeful and determined, as there is good will to continue these talks on both sides.
“But at the same time, responsible as we are, we must prepare the EU for a no-deal scenario, which is more likely than ever before.”
Ahead of the summit, May has been speaking to key European leaders in a bid to orchestrate a breakthrough in the talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to speak to the Prime Minister on Monday, while phone calls were held with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Sunday.
Theresa May will have one more chance to sell her Brexit plan to the EU (Source: Getty)
The invitation came just hours after May came under attack from all sides in the Commons as she defended her Brexit negotiating plan.
Appearing before MPs to give an update on the talks, the Prime Minister was barracked by Brexiters and Remainers as she insisted the UK and the EU are not “far apart” from reaching a deal.
Her words came less than 24 hours after the Brexit talks hit yet another bump, with progress on the so-called ‘backstop’ arrangement for any deal reaching a deadlock in Brussels.
May’s plan – which would come into effect if the UK and EU’s future trading relationship is not finalised by the end of 2020 – would see the UK stay part of the EU’s customs union, restricting its ability to implement third-party trade deals.
The EU do not want the backstop to be time-limited, as they believe it is needed to keep an invisible border on the island of Ireland.
Under questioning from Tory former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and Labour’s Brexit select committee chair Hilary Benn, May was not able to offer a concrete date on when such an arrangement would come to an end.
Claiming the backstop plan was merely an “insurance policy” in case a future trade agreement was not ready to be implemented, she said: “We expect that to be no later than December 2021 but we will be working to ensure that that point comes as early as possible.”
Tory MP Simon Clarke, who earlier this year submitted and then withdrew a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister, said May had “failed to reassure” MPs the UK would be able to leave the backstop arrangement when she claimed.
Former education secretary Justine Greening, who is supporting another referendum, attacked May’s plan to keep the UK signed up to the EU’s rules on goods after Brexit.
To nods from Boris Johnson and other Brexiter MPs, Greening said May’s plan “represents a unique loss of sovereignty for Britain and that for the first time we will have tied the hands of future generations to be bound by rules they will have had no chance to write.”