UK to hold further talks on Brexit assurances: May

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON

The U.K. premiere Theresa May on Friday said her country will be holding talks with EU in coming days on “further assurances” that the parliament needs in order to be able to approve the Brexit deal.

“At this Council meeting, I have held a series of discussions with my fellow leaders on the Brexit deal and I was crystal clear about the assurances which are needed on the backstop having heard the views of MPs in the House of Commons,” May said at a news conference in Brussels.

“I reiterated that it is in the interest of the EU as well as the U.K. to get this over the line,” May said, adding that “a disorderly Brexit would be good for no one”.

Regarding the contentious backstop arrangement, May said that the EU has made it clear that it is their “firm determination” to work on building a new relationship with the U.K. and to ensure that there would be no hard border by December 2020, when the transition period is set to end.

“If the backstop was ever triggered it would apply only temporarily and the EU would use its best endeavours to negotiate and conclude expeditiously a subsequent agreement that would replace the backstop” May said.

“[…] the EU stands ready to embark on preparations so that negotiations on the future partnership can conclude as soon as possible. As formal conclusions these commitments have legal statements and therefore should be welcomed,” she added.

May also made clear that the only guarantee of avoiding the backstop is to have a future partnership in place by the end of the transition period, also known as the implementation period.

After an intensely chaotic week in Westminster -- which saw the prime minister postpone the meaningful vote at the last moment and rebellious Tory MPs launch a vote of no confidence in her leadership, which she was able to defeat -- May had gone back to the EU hoping to renegotiate her deal.

However, May suffered another blow as EU officials said that they will not reconsider the backstop arrangement and thus not open up negotiations on the deal as it has already been signed.

Nonetheless, the prime minister rebuffed questions regarding this issue, saying: “I note there has been reporting that the EU is not willing to consider any further clarification. The EU is clear – as I am – that if we are going to leave with a deal this is it.”

Earlier in the summit, May was filmed in a heated exchange with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, in which he had apparently called May ‘nebulous’.

"I had a robust discussion with JC Juncker[...] What came out of that was his clarity was that when he had been talking and used that phrase he was talking about a general level of debate," May said regarding the confrontation.

The EU have also stated today that Britons will have to pay a visa fee of £6 ($7.5) when visiting the continent after Brexit. In previous discussions, May had always said that British tourists would be able to visit Europe without having to pay for a visa.