By Ben Kerrigan-
EU leaders are concerned about extending the two-year Article 50 process, because Brexit is “eating up the political energy” for solving other issues, the EU Deputy chief negotiator has said
Sabine Weyand said Mrs May’s secrecy and reliance on a small group of people had been a “handicap” in getting support for the deal. Stressing the high risk of Britain leaving the EU without a deal, Weyand said the EU has “full ownership of what was agreed” in the EU, but there was “no ownership” of it in the UK Parliament. She added that it was a challenge to see how a majority for any deal could be built among MP.
What Ms Weyand did not address was whether the deal presented by the EU was a fair or reasonable deal, and whether there are any alternatives they could explore, which they are refusing to do to make Britain pay for leaving the long established union comprising 27 countries.
She expressed a consensus among the EU that a time-limit to the Irish backstop defeated the purpose of having one, she added. Her comments come a day before Theresa May prepares to address a meeting of Tory MPs on a series of amendments to the PM’s plans that could shape the future direction of Brexit. Speaking about the current wording of the backstop plan, Ms Weyand said options had been extensively discussed with UK partners, and that they were fully aware of the contents of the deal. The deal remains unpopular with many Brexit-supporting Conservative MPs who are concerned that it could tie the UK to many EU rules indefinitely.
TOUGH
The DUP’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson called on the government to “be tough” and “face down the stubbornness of Dublin and Brussels”.
“It’s time for the Irish to work constructively and advocate for a sensible trading arrangement with their biggest market in Great Britain,” he said.