May appeals to fellow EU leaders not to rip UK apart over Brexit

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has appealed to European Union leaders to drop plans for a Brexit that could rip Britain apart by insisting to keep Northern Ireland under EU economic rules after Britain leaves the bloc in March next year.

May told fellow European leaders on Wednesday in a summit in Austria’s Salzburg that it would be unacceptable for Britain to accept EU’s Brexit plan for Ireland, while urging the bloc to respond in kind to her “serious and workable” plan.

The premier told EU leaders that they would do the same if they were asked to agree to a “legal separation” of their countries.

Both Britain and the EU want to avoid a hard border between the UK province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

Brussels has pressed London to accept an interim backstop plan that will move EU borders to the Irish Sea until a solution is found on allowing checks to be transferred to markets and businesses.

London insists that the backstop scenario will mean that Northern Ireland will be treated differently from the rest of the UK, saying instead that the EU should accept May’s plans for a frictionless trade, which is different than the free trade mechanism that is currently in place.  

“I believe that I have put forward serious and workable proposals. We will of course not agree on every detail, but I hope that you will respond in kind,” May told EU leaders. “The onus is now on all of us to get this deal done.”

PressTV-EU criticizes May's Brexit plan, says it needs more work

The EU says Britain should rework trade and border proposals made in PM May’s Brexit plan.

The Irish border remains a key sticking point in talks between May’s government and the EU on reaching a Brexit deal. Both sides are worried about a no-deal scenario in which Britain will crash out of the EU, leaving many issues unregulated.

'Clear principles'

EU leaders seemed hardly touched by May’s appeal on the issue, saying they would remain firm on proposals for the border as well as other issues related to bilateral trade.

“We have very clear principles regarding the integrity of the single market and regarding precisely the Irish border,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in Salzburg, adding, “We need a UK proposal precisely preserving this backstop in the framework of a withdrawal agreement.”

EU Council President Donald Tusk had said on the eve of Salzburg summitry that Britain needed to rework its proposals for a final Brexit plan. Tusk said he could call another summit in the middle of November so that leaders could again discuss the issue.

French sources said Thursday that an extra summit in November would be possible only if there was a real need for it.

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