UK Parliament returns to vote if it accepts or rejects Theresa May's agreement on Brexit

Two months after British MPs canceled the Brexit deal with Brussels, Prime Minister Theresa May return to Parliament on Tuesday, in a new historic vote that could lead to another defeat, only 17 days from the scheduled departure date of the European Union on 29 March.

In a last-minute effort, May went to Strasbourg, at the European Parliament's headquarters in northeastern France, Monday evening to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

After two and a half hours of meeting, a new dramatic turn In this unprecedented political soap opera: shortly before midnight, the two announced that they had agreed on the most controversial point of the agreement, the "Irish Safeguard".

This mechanism seeks avoid the reinstatement of a physical boundary between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland in order to protect the fragile peace agreement of 1998. But Eurosceptic deputies of May's conservative party fear that the UK will remain caught at traps indefinitely in European networks.

The solution presented by May and Juncker in Strasbourg is a complex "binding common legal instrument" by which the UK can denounce the EU if it considers that it acts in bad faith to impose a "Irish backup" permanent.

And also to find "alternative arrangements" for the Irish border from December 2020.

However, it remains to be seen whether this machine, taken less than 24 hours before the vote, will suffice to appease the fears of the British Parliament and to avoid another defeat like that of January, when 202 deputies voted in favor of the agreement and 432 against, among them more than 100 conservative rebels.

One of the key elements of the vote is the ten members of the Unionist Democratic Party (DUP), a small formation in Northern Ireland on which the fragile parliamentary majority of May is based.

This ultra-conservative party has always opposed Northern Ireland being treated differently than the rest of the UK and it is unclear whether the new agreement with Brussels will be enough to satisfy them.

But, with such a short time, the deputies of Northern Ireland, like conservative eurosceptic rebels, might consider that it is better to approve now what they have, rather than risk getting lost after so many years and being so close. .

The vote must begin towards 19 rooms, 16 in Argentina. But before midday, we are waiting for the legal report drafted by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, who is in charge of legal advice to the government.

Keir Starmer, Labor Party Brexit leader, said on Twitter that he would be "surprised" that the changes made would be enough to alter the legal opinion of Cox, who had pointed out in December the risk that the United Kingdom is "indefinitely" a prisoner of the "Irish safeguard".

Union leader Jeremy Corbyn was quick to respond to May and Juncker's announcement. He asked the British deputies to vote against the text, saying that "there is nothing like the promised changes" in May.

If the deputies reverse the text again, according to the British press, May's team is considering the possibility of submit it to Parliament a third time, although it all depends on the number of MPs voting against it: a disadvantage of more than 60% seems very difficult to overcome.

The prime minister also promised to consult parliamentarians on Wednesday whether they are in favor or against the vote. Brexit without agreement.

If MEPs also reject a Brexit without an agreement, which, given the previous votes, seems very likely, Thursday, a third vote should take place. possibility to ask the EU for a postponement of the Brexit date.

But this one would need the unanimous approval of the leaders of the 27 other countries of the bloc and they had already warned that they would consider this possibility only if the objective was clear. And not just to continue to prolong a blockade they consider motivated by internal policy issues British

A postponement could eventually lead to the convening of early parliamentary elections or to the organization of a second referendum, an option that opposes the categorical rejection of the government but which counts more and more. adept among those who wish to cancel Brexit clearly and clearly.

Juncker warned last night: "It's this deal where the Brexit might not take place".