May's enemies gather in the British stalemate over Brexit

LONDON – Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday held talks with EU leaders and colleagues from Britain's Cabinet, but efforts to end Britain's stalemate over Brexit appear to be stalled.

May this week met with politicians from several UK parties to try to find a solution after her divorce agreement with the European Union was overwhelmingly rejected by Parliament.

Despite this, May did not want to change its "red lines" in the Brexit negotiations, including the exit of Britain from the bloc's customs union. And the leader of the Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn, refused to meet with Mai, unless she ruled out the possibility that Britain would leave the EU without any agreement – a scenario that, according to a lot, would hurt the British economy.

In May, also on Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker planned additional calls to European colleagues this weekend.

But the talks have made little progress.

The European Commission said concisely that May-Juncker's call was "an exchange of information from both sides" and that the two had "agreed to keep in touch".

May, who narrowly defeated a Conservative vote of censorship sparked by Corbyn this week, said it was "not the government's power to exclude a non-agreement" because Britain will legally leave the EU without an agreement on March 29. unless Parliament approves an agreement before that date.

May is due to publish its detailed plan for Brexit on Monday, before UK lawmakers discuss it – and will probably try to change it – on Jan. 29.

Prime Minister is at a dead end. Many lawmakers believe that a "soft Brexit" that keeps Great Britain in the EU's single market or customs union is the only plan that can win a majority in Parliament. But much of May's conservative party vehemently opposes this idea.

British political chaos has prompted EU countries to step up their preparations for a disorderly exit from Britain. France and other countries are spending millions of dollars, hiring thousands of workers and issuing emergency decrees to deal with the possibility that Britain will collapse outside the bloc, leading to major disruptions in travels and exchanges.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe discussed on Friday some of the country's preparations for a Brexit without agreement, visiting the Eurotunnel complex and meeting small businesses on the Channel coast.

France pays particular attention to the Channel Tunnel, which transports millions of pbadengers each year between the United Kingdom and France, as well as to freight trucks which play an important role in British trade with the United Kingdom. continent.

On Friday, a group of German personalities made a moving appeal to Britain to stay in the bloc. A letter published in the Times of London said: "Without your great nation, this continent would not be what it is today: a community defined by freedom and prosperity."

He went on to list things the Germans would miss in Britain, including "milk tea" and "going to the pub after work".

Signatories include Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Christian Union, Airbus chief Tom Enders and former German footballer Jens Lehmann.

In the political stalemate, May's national opponents gather. Former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson used a speech at a bulldozer factory on Friday to accuse May of not having the "right idea" to get a good price from the United States. # 39; EU.

Johnson, a potential future candidate to replace May as Conservative leader and prime minister, asked him to "return to Brussels to get a better deal," even as European leaders said the withdrawal agreement does not would not be renegotiated.

He dodged the question of whether he would support May as party leader if a sudden general election was called off, saying that Britain did not need a new vote.

"I think most people in this country feel that they have had enough elections," he said. "I certainly do."

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Angela Charlton in Paris and Greg Katz in London contributed to this report.

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