London/Brussels - Ireland accused British
Prime Minister Theresa May of wishful thinking on Wednesday for
seeking to renegotiate a post-Brexit arrangement for the Irish
border in an attempt to get backing for Britain's EU divorce
deal in parliament.
Other European Union leaders had quickly dismissed the idea
of reopening the deal, saying the Irish "backstop" was not
negotiable, shortly after parliament instructed May to do just
that in a vote on Tuesday.
Less than two months before the United Kingdom is due by law
to leave the EU on March 29, investors and allies are trying to
gauge where the crisis will end up, with options including a
disorderly 'no-deal' Brexit, a delay, or no Brexit at all.
Two weeks after overwhelmingly rejecting the deal May had
agreed in Brussels in two years of talks, a 317-310 majority in
parliament demanded she secure a replacement for the backstop,
an insurance policy that aims to prevent a hard border being
erected between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
In essence, she will use the implicit threat of a 'no-deal'
Brexit to clinch a deal from the other 27 members of the EU,
whose combined economy is about six times the size of Britain's.
The European response has been blunt.
Simon Coveney, foreign minister of Ireland, whose economy
stands to suffer most from a 'no-deal' Brexit, said Britain had
not offered any feasible way to keep the border open.
Ireland also has a huge interest in preserving a deal that
has maintained sectarian peace in neighbouring Northern Ireland
for two decades, not least by scrapping all border checks.
"What we are being asked to do here is to compromise on a
solution that works, and to replace it with wishful thinking,"
he said.
"NO RENEGOTIATION"
France said there would be no renegotiation of the deal
already agreed. European Council President Donald Tusk, due to
hold a call with May at 1745 GMT, referred to the backstop in
saying the deal would was "not open for renegotiation".
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stuck to
the same line, adding that Brussels still did not know what
Britain wanted and that the chances of a 'no-deal' exit had
increased.
Currency traders also took that view as sterling traded
around $1.3070, more than a cent down from the level reached
before lawmakers voted on Tuesday.
Heiko Maas, foreign minister of the EU's leading power,
Germany, said the British government "must now say quickly what
it wants, because time is running out".
"We are ready to talk," he said, before adding: "Our
position is clear: the Withdrawal Agreement is the best and only
solution for an orderly exit."
While the EU has repeatedly refused to reopen the divorce
deal, EU sources said additional clarifications, statements or
assurances on the backstop might be possible.
May has said she needs more -- a legally binding change. She
aims to get parliament's approval for a revised deal on Feb. 13.
If that fails, parliament will vote on next steps on Feb. 14.
That deadline ratchets up the pressure on dedicated
Brexiteers in the Conservative Party who fear opponents will try
to delay and ultimately thwart Britain's exit.
CORBYN MEETING MAY
Both May's Conservatives and the main opposition Labour
Party are formally committed to carrying out Brexit but
internally divided over how or even whether to do so.
Brexiteers accept there is likely to be some short-term
economic pain but say Britain will thrive in the long term if
cut loose from European rules. Pro-Europeans say Britain’s exit
will make it poorer, reduce its global clout, undermine London’s
position as a global financial capital and weaken the West.
Britain voted 52 percent to 48 percent to leave the EU in a
2016 referendum. Brexit supporters say it would betray democracy
to fail to act on that mandate. Opponents say voters may have
changed their minds now that the details are becoming clearer.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who favours a much
closer relationship with the EU, built around a customs union,
met May to discuss Brexit.
"Jeremy made the case for our alternative plan," the
spokesperson said, adding that the tone had been "serious and
engaged" and that the two had agreed to meet again.
If May cannot get a deal agreed, the default option would be
to exit the EU abruptly with no deal at all, which businesses
say would cause chaos and disrupt supply chains for basic goods.
"This will hit Britain harder than others," German Economy
Ministry Peter Altmaier said. "The coming days must be used to
finally prevent a hard Brexit."
British lawmakers on Tuesday approved a proposal calling on
the government to prevent a no-deal exit, sending a signal that
a majority opposes it. However, they rejected two amendments
that set out a clear path for parliament to prevent it.
Many company chiefs are aghast at London's handling of
Brexit and say it has already damaged Britain’s reputation as
Europe’s pre-eminent destination for foreign investment.
The investment bank Goldman raised its probability of a
no-deal Brexit to 15 percent from 10 percent, kept its
probability of a delayed Brexit at 50 percent, and revised down
its probability of no Brexit to 35 percent from 40 percent.