British Prime Minister Theresa May briefed her ministers Tuesday ahead of a final push to secure a Brexit deal, but faced fresh pressure from her Northern Irish allies — while Spain warned it could still veto the agreement.
May will meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Wednesday as she seeks to finalise the outline terms of Britain’s future trading relationship.
EU leaders will then meet on Sunday to approve this framework and the withdrawal agreement struck last week, hoping finally to put an end to the uncertainty over Britain’s exit scheduled for March.
But there remain challenges to overcome before then.
May faced a storm of domestic opposition over the divorce terms announced last week, and her Northern Irish allies have stepped up their demands for a change in the arrangements for the British province.
Splits meanwhile have emerged on the European side, with Spain warning it could veto the deal over the issue of Gibraltar, a British territory long claimed by Madrid.
“I regret to say that a pro-European government like Spain’s would vote no to Brexit unless there are changes” to the terms of the agreement concerning Gibraltar, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Future of Gibraltar
Two of May’s top ministers, including her Brexit secretary, quit last week over the divorce deal, while MPs from all parties came out against it.
A leadership challenge by May’s own Conservative MPs has failed to materialise, however, and when she gathered her new-look cabinet Tuesday, they agreed to press on.
Officials are now racing to agree details of an accompanying outline statement on the future trading and security relationship for after Britain leaves the EU’s single market and customs union.
May will meet Juncker for afternoon tea on Wednesday as “part of the ongoing negotiation process”, her spokesman said.
European ministers have signed off on the draft divorce terms, but the agreement now risks being derailed by opposition in Madrid.
Spain wants the right to negotiate the future on Gibraltar with Britain on a bilateral basis.
“As a country, we can’t conceive that what will happen with the future of Gibraltar will depend on a negotiation between Britain and the European Union,” Sanchez said.
Spain’s stance is opposed by both London and Belfast, where Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said a deal that took nearly two years to negotiate “should not be changed now”.
‘Show our displeasure’
Opposition to the agreement is also building in the House of Commons in London, which will vote on the final Brexit deal, likely early next month.
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), on whom May’s Conservatives depend for their majority, fears it will lead to a special status for the province, and is beginning to flex its muscles.
Late Monday, DUP MPs abstained on three budget votes in the Commons and voted against the government on a fourth, in apparent defiance of their deal to back the Conservatives on finance matters.
“We had to do something to show our displeasure,” DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson told the BBC.
Pro-Brexit Conservatives have also savaged the divorce deal, which they say keeps Britain too close to the EU.
Rebels led by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg failed in their attempt to force an immediate confidence vote in May’s leadership, but warned they would keep trying.
And Scotland’s pro-independence leader Nicola Sturgeon, who heads the Scottish National Party (SNP), held talks with Britain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn about voting down May’s “bad deal” and figuring out what to do instead.
Their opposition raises the risk of the deal failing and Britain ending its four-decade membership of the EU with no other arrangement in place.
Bank of England backing
Despite the resistance, May has continued to defend her deal in meetings with politicians, business leaders and party members.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney joined a chorus of business support on Tuesday, telling MPs the deal would support current forecasts based on “a smooth transition” for the economy.
May also used an editorial in the Belfast Telegraph to reassure people in Northern Ireland that it would put them “in a fantastic position for the future” while preserving the province’s place in the UK.
The withdrawal agreement sets out plans for a 21-month transition after Brexit, in which Britain and the EU want to turn their outline agreement on the future relationship into a full trade deal.
But controversially, it says that in case that deal is not agreed in time, Britain will adopt a “backstop” arrangement to keep open its land border with Ireland.
This would keep all of Britain in the EU’s customs union, and Northern Ireland also in parts of the single market.