It was a desperate rescue attempt in the final meters, Just 50 days before the Brexit the UK and the European Union return to the negotiating table, a chaotic separation, but yet avert.

Until the end of February it is time, as Prime Minister Theresa May and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday said in Brussels. For the time being, both sides insisted however, on their irreconcilable positions.

the UK wants the EU on 29. March, leave. Because of the negotiated Brexit-found the contract in mid-January in the British Parliament has no majority, wants May enforce Changes. The EU excludes it. It remained even after Mays Brussels for talks with Juncker, EU Council President Donald Tusk and representatives of the EU Parliament. Tusk said on Twitter: “still no breakthrough in sight.”

May gave certain, though, that you could bring the Brexit in a timely manner on the stage. “I will negotiate in the next few days, hard to create exactly that,” she said.

tense

The mood was tense on both sides. On Wednesday Tusk had been in London for indignation as he spoke of a “special place in hell” for the Brexit advocates, had no Plan for exiting the EU.

May said she had raised Tusk. “The language he used yesterday, was not helpful and has been widely used in the UK in Trouble,” said the head of government. Also, the discussion between May and Juncker had been “robust,” it said.

Nevertheless, you want to try together, the Blockade still to break – even from fear of economic turmoil and political uncertainty, in the case of a Brexit without a contract. Because in the case of the agreed Transition period until at least the end of 2020, virtually nothing would change would be dropped. And no one knew how you could work together after a chaotic separation in the future.

Joint statement

It May, and Juncker played in their joint statement. Both wanted a “strong partnership for the future” for trade, climate protection, Anti-Terror fight, and a rules-based international System, it was called. In the sense, you work together to bring an orderly Brexit.

traders should now look for a way of finds in the British Parliament and on the EU side. On Monday Brexit-Minister Stephen Barclay and EU to meet-negotiator, Michel Barnier.

No new proposal

The common goal is so credible – it remained unclear just how the solution should look like has been formulated. An EU official said, May have made behind closed doors, with not a single concrete new proposal.

And in public, May took after your Meeting, exactly what is excluded the EU is already categorically: “It is our clear Position that we need to legally reach binding Changes in the exit agreement, to address concerns that the Parliament has, due to the Backstops.”

This Backstop, the agreed guarantee for an open border between the EU-state of Ireland and the British Northern Ireland – considered to be the highest hurdle for the British ratification of the agreement.

The EU is insisting, because a division of the island could rekindle a new political violence in the former civil war region. A majority in the house of Commons had recently voted in favour of the “alternative arrangements”. Juncker reiterated on Thursday that the rest of the 27 EU States, would not open the exit agreement.

EU for permanent customs Union

The EU is an other solution: May want to give up their opposition to a permanent customs Union and access to the EU internal market after Brexit. Under these circumstances, the Irish border could remain open, and the Backstop would never be used. This could be written without Changing the actual agreement in the political Declaration.

This line is followed Juncker in conversation with May. And in this direction, a proposal of the British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn: It was May the support of his Labour party, if it accepts a customs Union and access to the EU internal market.

“We believe that a customs Union is necessary to ensure the smooth flow of trade, our businesses, workers and consumers need,” said Corbyn, in a letter to May. “It is the only viable way to ensure that there is on the island of Ireland not a hard limit.”

In Brussels, a lot on listening at the Corbyn Plan. EU-great-grandson Tusk had signalled in May that this could perhaps be part of the solution, said the EU officials. Also from the EU Parliament is a positive Echo came from. “This proposal of Corbyn is not a good way out, from the current situation”, said the Green MEP Sven Giegold.

(oli/sda)

Created: 07.02.2019, 20:29 PM

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