May to seek 'pragmatic' Brexit deal in Brussels talks
(dpa)
London (dpa) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will seek a "pragmatic" Brexit deal that can win over both the European
Union and her own lawmakers when she returns to Brussels for talks.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, May suggested that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had agreed with her that the Irish border backstop as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement had to change.
May said she was listening to figures from across politics, the trade union movement and business in her quest for a feasible Brexit compromise.
"It's why when I return to Brussels I will be battling for Britain
and Northern Ireland, I will be armed with a fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination to agree a pragmatic solution that delivers the Brexit the British people voted for, while ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland," May added.
"That is what Parliament instructed me to do on Tuesday night," May asserted.
In Tuesday's House of Commons vote, a narrow majority of lawmakers backed May's plan to renegotiate the so-called "backstop" - the part of the withdrawal agreement that guarantees an open Irish border after Brexit.
But the EU has rejected this. Minutes after the Commons vote, European Council President Donald Tusk issued a statement insisting the withdrawal agreement including the backstop "remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union."
The prime minister is due to report back to Parliament on her negotiations with the EU on February 13.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, May suggested that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had agreed with her that the Irish border backstop as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement had to change.
May said she was listening to figures from across politics, the trade union movement and business in her quest for a feasible Brexit compromise.
"It's why when I return to Brussels I will be battling for Britain
and Northern Ireland, I will be armed with a fresh mandate, new ideas and a renewed determination to agree a pragmatic solution that delivers the Brexit the British people voted for, while ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland," May added.
"That is what Parliament instructed me to do on Tuesday night," May asserted.
In Tuesday's House of Commons vote, a narrow majority of lawmakers backed May's plan to renegotiate the so-called "backstop" - the part of the withdrawal agreement that guarantees an open Irish border after Brexit.
But the EU has rejected this. Minutes after the Commons vote, European Council President Donald Tusk issued a statement insisting the withdrawal agreement including the backstop "remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union."
The prime minister is due to report back to Parliament on her negotiations with the EU on February 13.
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