May to ask EU to reopen withdrawal deal

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

British Prime Minister Theresa May will ask the EU to reopen the withdrawal agreement, her spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In a news briefing, the spokesperson said May has told EU leaders that she intends to re-open Brexit negotiations to get her deal through parliament.

The announcement came on a day when British lawmakers will vote a series of amendments on the withdrawal agreement and the government’s Brexit strategy.

The EU has repeatedly said they would not renegotiate the agreed deal but they would consider extending article 50 process.

The U.K. is set to leave the EU on March 29 unless the article 50 is extended.

Among the amendments to be voted, if received green light from the parliament speaker John Bercow today, will be the one prepared by Labour MP Yvette Cooper that will ask MPs to delay the Brexit date for up to 9 months if a deal cannot be ratified until Feb. 26.

Another amendment proposed by Conservative MP Graham Brady aims to give the prime minister a mandate to go back to Brussels to negotiate an alternative for the backstop clause -- a clause that is opposed by the parliament majority.

The votes will take Tuesday evening.