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LAST UPDATE | 7 Feb 2019
THERESA MAY HAS been told that the EU will not re-open negotiations on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Jean-Claude Juncker and the British prime minister have however agreed to hold further talks on Britain’s withdrawal, after what they described as a “robust” meeting.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier will meet Britain’s Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay on Monday in Strasbourg and May and Juncker themselves will get back together before the end of February, a spokesman said.
In a joint statement issued after May met the European Commission President in Brussels, the pair confirmed that Juncker had warned the British premier that the Brexit withdrawal deal could not be looked at again.
He “expressed his openness to add wording” to a parallel political declaration laying out ambitions for future EU-UK ties if London wants to seek a “more ambitious” closer relationship after Brexit.
“The discussion was robust but constructive,” the joint statement today said.
Despite the challenges, the two leaders agreed that their teams should hold talks as to whether a way through can be found that would gain the broadest possible support in the UK Parliament and respect the guidelines agreed by the European Council.
As UK political commentators have observed, the release of this joint assessment of the situation appears to end hopes that May can get a Brexit deal through the House of Commons with the support of the Brexiteer wing of her party.
‘Alternative arrangements’
May, according to the statement, had urged that the withdrawal agreement itself be changed, and reminded Juncker that the British parliament had mandated her to seek “a legally binding change to the terms of the backstop”.
Theresa May’s cabinet last November backed an agreement on the backstop that would see Northern Ireland aligned to some rules of the single market if alternative solutions could not be found by the end of the Brexit transition period in 2020.
The revised backstop plan, which would also effectively keep the whole of the UK in a customs union with the EU until both parties no longer deemed it necessary, has been roundly rejected by Brexiteer MPs.
Last week those MPs lent their support to a new amendment proposing replacing the Irish backstop with unspecified “alternative arrangements”, as the proposal gained the support of a majority of the House of Commons.
After his own talks with May, EU President Donald Tusk warned there was “no breakthrough in sight”, although the British leader said she had seen willingness from Brussels to find a deal.
Tusk today apparently suggested to May that she study a plan laid out by British opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
May has already rejected the proposal for an EU-UK customs union, but the EU leader said it “might be a promising way out of the impasse”, the official told AFP.
Speaking to reporters as she left Brussels, May said she had spelled out Britain’s “clear position” that legally-binding changes are needed to the so-called backstop plan for the Irish border.
If no agreement is reached on the withdrawal deal, which has yet to be approved by either the British or EU parliaments, Britain will crash out of the union with no follow-on trade arrangements on 29 March.
Includes reporting from - © AFP, 2019
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Up the EU!!
@deise: EU abu!
@deise: a lot of people are asking what part of No do the Brits not understand. Really..??? If people forget about the “Hell” comment amd get past it and listen to what both DT and LV actually said the only conclusion can be that agreement on the back Stop is not only possible but likely. Crystal clear that an agreement that will allow both sides claim victory is been worked on. UK and out AGs meeting in Dublin tomorrow.. A face-saving climb down on back-stop is being worked on.
@deise: Europe 2 – U.K. 0
Well done EU, but did the UK really expect us to reopen negotiations on the promise of a solution?
Perhaps they don’t realise that others won’t make decisions without knowing the plan and/or the consequences.
@MK76: some of them did. The ones who sing Rule Britannia in the shower.
@Edmund Murphy: gobsh*te
@jimmypnufc: To be fair I can’t prove I’m not.
A weak PM and an arrogant parliament. They thought they could just sit and demand and demand, behind the imagined bulwark of ‘they need us more than we need them’ and ‘they’ll blink first because this is how the EU operates.
The British parliament has screwed brexit for the entire British nation in favour of trying to keep a basket case conservative party from splitting. Well now they’ll have nothing.
@Adam Kelly: A complacent EU and a bitter Irish Nation is more accurate. Check your facts.
@Anthony Avenell: Bitter .. LMFAO
@Anthony Avenell: yeah, what reason has Ireland got to be bitter about Britain?
@Anthony Avenell: Looking out for the whole Ireland of Irelands interests is patriotic.
@Stephen Devlin: laugh your arse off as much as you want, you child. It’s a fact.
@Patrick Agnew: Nine at all. You wouldn’t be the. Action you are now without the. British.
@Gilly Moriarty: Don’t be so naive!!! Look behind the political gameplay.
@Anthony Avenell: the only one here that sounds bitter is you? The tories were told this would happen but in typical form they thought they could bully and threaten their way out of it. Ireland has only stood up for its rights in the same way that if the shoe were on the other foot Britain would.
@Anthony Avenell:
“Nine at all. You wouldn’t be the. Action you are now without the. British.”
Wow, a British Brexiteer and an illiterate!
What are the odds?
Are you by any chance a tabloid reader Tony mate?
A no deal Brexit is on the cards so, with the UK happy with the re opening of the “troubles” to punish an upstart, ungrateful Republic.
@Dave Doyle: How do you equate the prospect of a no deal with reigniting the troubles?
@Dave Doyle: I would reckon that if it kicks off again the UK will have more trouble to deal with than the Republic.
@Mick Byrne: because no deal means hard border, which means infrastructure and inconvenience which can be targetted
@Vocal Outrage: It’ll be the EU that puts up border infrastructure, where does that leave your plan?
@Mick Byrne: It will be us who puts up the border, if we don’t the EU will put the same restrictions on Irish imports as they will on British imports at European ports.
@Colin McNamara: the brits really don’t want those 5000 ibs bombs coming back to the city of London. At this stage anything can happen.
@Colin McNamara: While I don’t disagree with your assertion that the EU will want a border I cant see us accepting an Irish enforced border so back to my original question of how this situation equates with reigniting the troubles, will it be amongst ourselves?
@Bart Teeling: Bombs in the name of what, European Unionism?
@Mick Byrne: Border breaks the Good Friday agreement, Britain welching on a treaty,
@Bart Teeling: or their motorways closed down again. That’s where they’re headed
@Cathal: Does that mean Ireland can’t enforce border controls?
@Bart Teeling: You really are a very sad person.
@Dave Doyle: they suffered from the troubles too
@Mick Byrne: The ra will be back with a bang, for sure. And it won’t be the republic that suffers.
@Mick Byrne: In spite of the UK claims about not wanting a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, once they leave with no deal they will enforce it, as will the EU as an external border.
Another reason for the UK to do this is because, they will have brexiters insisting that the entire UK border must be secured against foreigners and they will begin engaging in a trade cold war with the EU because the EU won’t treat them the special way, that they feel the should be..
This is of course uncharted territory for the UK, because historically they would have just resorted to force of arms on anyone that didn’t meet their demands in a timely fashion, once their own population had been sufficiently indoctrinated that they were under threat enough to support it without question.
Her body language speaks volumes!
@James Wallace: Yep, she looks pisht off!
Unsure what exactly May was expecting. She agreed to the backstop. The agreement was in place and now she wants to retroactively renegotiate it?
I do not blame Tusk’s comment yesterday at all. I would be exasperated too by the Tory government’s behaviour.
BRITS OUT!
@marian: Wow how original moron
@marian: EU IN ?
@marian: Grow up.
@marian: Moronic but its better than “up the Ra”
@Robert Preston: How about a compromise.. up the Republic? Supported of course by the Army. The republics army. The RA!.
I met a guy in a bar in Udon Thani, Northern Thailand, 2 weeks ago . English, beer belly, sleeveless Union Jack vest , I did not want to talk to him but he insisted on telling me he was an ‘Evy Goods Vehicle Driver’ and picking up on my accent said he’s gonna make a lotta money out of a Hard Bexit . He also said he voted to Leave and he knew exactly what he was voting for. God forgives me but I said to him that the day they erect a hard border structure between Ireland and Northern Ireland is the day before it will be blown to smithereens. Thank that was it.. I left..
@Terry Cahill: Also he’s going to lose his cabotage rights. If he’s got a load out of UK to Belgium and a load back to UK from Germany, he’ll have to drive empty Belgium-Germany, whereas an EU-flagged truck could take a load on that leg also.
Excellent, May should now get on with what the British people voted for & leave the EU.
Ahh, so brexit does mean brexit after all
The whole political world is gone mad, turning it into us against them on each side. Binary rubbish of for or against and nothing inbetween. No moderate parties, no moderate proposals, and more of this means more rubbish like Brexit, like Trump and like the referenda here recently.
Absolutely no winners here, and as entertaining as it is to watch, these clowns, on both sides, are only out to ‘win’ for their ‘team.’
@Brian Guilfoyle: the EU was very open to suggestions and was very moderate. It’s the UK who behaved truculently.
@Brendan Cooney: dead right if you offered the brits everything, they’d want more
@Tim Oconnell: Grow up.
@Brendan Cooney: Incorrect. Check your facts. Britain has compromised considerably, the EU has not.
@Anthony Avenell:
Britain needs to get used to been a small nation desperately trying to do a deal with much larger trading blocks/ countries.
You get f**Ked every time
@Anthony Avenell: thank god the empire is no more’ the brexiteers like Rees Mogg Johnson et al need to wake up to this
@Anthony Avenell: LOL, oh yea! If you consider how the UK has acted the past few years as compromise then they really are Fu€ked. C’est-la-vie.
@Anthony Avenell: well they’re leaving the EU, not the other way round so what else did they expect?
@Patrick Nolan: If Britain is a small Nation, Ireland is merely a lapdog to the EU, the Germans and French in particular. A nation of sycophants.
@John Moylan: They should have put two fingers up to the EU and negotiated from there. There is no need to insist on tariffs , it’s just they don’t want to compromise their little boys club.
@Brendan Cooney: You really are speaking in ignorance and should check your facts.
@Brian Guilfoyle: diplomacy from both sides has been seriously lacking. With some political guile the whole thing should be wrapped up by now, but all we got was soundbites and name calling
@Anthony Avenell: Go away, you’re like some kind of repetitive bot
Even their horses are sick of them…The neighs to the right!!
@Jimmy Journalnose: Grow up.
@Anthony Avenell: you’re a fun loving guy
@Tim Oconnell: Sure am. What’s your beef ?
@Anthony Avenell: grow up
@Anthony Avenell: grow up and ‘go back to your own country, foreigner’.
We don’t need your kind around here. Hooligan.
People, who have nothing to gain by negotiating, refuse to negotiate. Surprising stuff.
@jacquoranda: both sides have lots to lose don’t be mistaken
She looks like she just got some bad news….
Now it’s time for Varadkar to get the EU’s official commitment to protect Ireland financially from the hard Brexit crash !
Here you go.
Now what ? ( Famous circus music background)
@Dominic Leleu: hard Brexit
@Dominic Leleu:
Doing the Benny Hill theme tune out of a job now!!
Tories so greedy for power they’d go to bed with the Yorkshire ripper.DUP vermin have no place in politics.
Just go. Deal or no deal.
I almost felt embarrassed for her today..
now she has to go back and tell the D.U.P.(klan)that she was laughed at in Brussels..
All our Irish government are interested in is the EU richmans club as well as the gravy train so that the big beef farmers are going to be looked after along with the politicians getting a fat brown envelope
I wish you’d all stop gloating. The brinkmanship if the Irish Family who sent a card to the EU was pathetic, childish and very distasteful. Peoples’ livelihoods are at stake. If Britain leaves without a deal, and I think she should, you will soon regret your unkind words. You will no longer be able to trade seamlessly with your neighbour, due to EU rules. Perhaps the Irish and the EU should stop being so smug and show a little flexibility and understanding.
@Anthony Avenell: They showed a lot of flexibility over 2 years of negotiations, came up with an agreement, did the deal and it didn’t get them very far.
@Juan Fangio: No they didn’t. Check your facts before you contradict someone. The EU was and is totally inflexible.
@Anthony Avenell: So I wonder then what’s this withdrawal agreement that the EU won’t reopen. Is that not a deal that was hammered out over the last two years by the 28 countries of the EU.
@Anthony Avenell: You don’t seem to understand the detail. The UK fought like mad to make the NI backstop UK wide ands the EU conceded, despite the pressure from France in particular. Of course, they ten banked it and started blaming the UK for forcing them into it. You just seem to be swallowing the Daily Mail propaganda wholesale.
@Tony Murray: blaming the EU. Autocorrect.
@Anthony Avenell: perhaps Britain should get off its high horse and show a little humility? It went into the EU with a list of demands, not requests. And even now it’s demanding rather than asking, sure it is entitled to renegotiate. Anyone who witnessed their antics last week in the European Parliament chamber shouting down the other speakers can be in no doubt as to their attitude!
@Anthony Avenell: Look Nigel, carry on with your empire building but don’t drag other countries down with you.
The whole idea of the backstop is to avoid a hard border in the event of no agreement….
In the event of agreement then there is no backstop – simple as… and the best way to get rid of the backstop is to reach agreement….
I feel sorry for May at the moment, no matter what cards she plays there is someone ready to trump her… I do think that when the deal she agreed to on behalf of the British people failed to be passed then the correct thing to do was resign and maybe call an election – it is still impossible for me to understand how you can vote confidence in someone and vote against their core proposals at the same time… maybe still time and ask the EU for an extension pending the outcome of that election…. we will see.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: Honestly, I think May has handled this exceptionally poorly. Granted, she was given a very difficult task, she has tried very hard but she has really made a bad situation worse. Firstly, she’s a remainder, so how can she convince anyone else leaving is the best outcome? 50+ days before crashing out, she sets up an “alternate arrangements” working group? She’d have long been sacked in the private sector. Why did she set out all these red lines, heavily influence the backstop, agree to the backstop and not sort out cabinet and party backing in advance? The arrogance is mind boggling. This is the start of the breakup of the UK, history will not be kind to May and the hardline brexiteers. Absolute numpties, the lot of them.
A frosty handshake. I think the EU thought that GB would go for a revote. It’s a no win situation for all, especially Ireland.
Should we start looking at the EU as a bunny boiler?
@John Tierney: why?
Love the comment from the reporter in the clip, ” what’s your plan B …… is this hell priminister ” made them and me laugh
Men against boys. Ireland rugby hang your head in shame as sweet chariots is sung and all the corporates head for the doors
@Artur Gurta: what ?????
@ed w: I second that. Please explain. I think you are too cultured for me.
@Artur Gurta: Simply too much coleslaw here. Im swamped. Egg salad to follow. Will check back in tomorrow re: sliced ham. Noel.
@Artur Gurta: give up trolling. Get a job.
@ed w: Think about it. He’s totally right.
@Noel Walsh: F U N E M N X. 9 V F O M N X !!!!
@Dave Thomas: Grow up and return to school.
Fxck off back to England May
Will the EU help when Ireland will have major loss in exports to the UK or will they add to our borrowing yet again at high interest rates what happen when the arrived when the banks crashed or has everyone short Memories
No deal brexit. Watch the eu move then. They only want th 40 billion squids .
@Roger Camp: They get that money regardless of a no-deal or a deal so what’s your point?
Clear, clear, clear, must be clear, couldn’t be clearer for the last two f-in years. Fine if your a glazing company.
She looks like she just did a small poo.
Clear, clear, clear, must be clear, couldn’t be clearer for the last two f-in years. Fine if your a glazing company
The most jarring message to PM May from Tusk surely….”closely examine the Corbyn proposals”
Now that must be H e l l for Theresa.
People across the UK are muttering in response to this news, that it’s all part of project fear and just a negotiating ploy by the EU….
I hope Britain leaves with no deal and makes a success of it (short term pain long term gain) but I know we’ll badly affected. I’m all for the free movement of goods, capital, services and people which is what the EU is all about, however, Merkel and Macron have both said on the record that everything should be controlled out of Brussels and they want to remove nationalism and have an EU army . The EU is undemocratic as we have unelected beurocrats like Juncker and Tusk who want a federal state with tax Harmonisation which could drive away multinationals from here. Italy is headed for a banking collapse and their economy is 10 times bigger than Greece so they couldn’t even be bailed out which could sink the Euro.
Can’t wait for the (dynamic thinking)
Just remembered that after agreeing to set up a Boundary Commission in 1925 to revisit the border after the treaty negotiations from the Irish War of Independence it was ignored by successive British governments.
Wouldn’t trust them for a split second
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