EU says talks on amending Brexit deal are at standstill
European Union officials say almost no progress has been made in ongoing talks on amending a controversial withdrawal agreement for Britain.
Margaritis Schinas, spokesman for the European Commission, said on Wednesday that EU’s top Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and British government’s top lawyer Geoffrey Cox had offered no new timetable to resume their talks after they failed on Tuesday to agree on changes to an existing Brexit deal.
The official said there has been a lack of agreement on how to amend the so-called Irish backstop, a controversial clause in the Brexit deal which sets out rules for the administration of the only land border between Britain and the EU after Brexit.
“(EU Brexit negotiator) Michel Barnier has informed...that while the talks take place in a constructive atmosphere, discussions have been difficult,” said Schinas, adding, “No solution has been identified at this point that is consistent with the withdrawal agreement, including the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, which will not be reopened.”
Cox, who is UK’s attorney general, said his talks with Barnier on Tuesday were “robust” and detailed.
As a senior member of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party, Cox should offer a guarantee to lawmakers in the British parliament that the backstop would be temporary once it is implemented two years after Brexit and in the absence of EU-UK trade deal. That would hugely boost chances for Prime Minister Theresa May to go through the parliament with her Brexit deal and avoid a disorderly withdrawal on March 29.
May will put the deal to a meaningful vote of the House of Commons on March 12, nearly a month after she suffered a historic defeat in a first vote.
Other EU officials, however, said talks on amending the Brexit deal will extend into the weekend despite hopes that Cox and Barnier would reach an agreement in the coming days.
“We are at a standstill,” said an EU official adding, “We are preparing for a working weekend ... It’s unlikely there would be a deal before the weekend.”
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