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Britain could leave the EU by 22 May at the latest if the Commons backed a customs union in Monday evening's indicative votes, according to officials close to the Brexit talks in Brussels.
With the agreement of Downing Street, a reference to the intention to negotiate an ambitious customs agreement would be quickly included in the political declaration and officially signed at the summit of European leaders on April 10.
Brussels would then expect that all necessary withdrawal laws would be adopted by Parliament by the end of May in order to avoid the holding of European elections in Britain.
The deputies were to participate Monday evening in a second round of indicative votes on a potential solution to the stalemate of Brexit.
The Prime Minister's agreement, in which the political declaration does not bind the two parties to the negotiation of a customs union, was rejected three times – by 230 votes against 149 and 58.
The Customs Union 's proposal, former Chancellor Chancellor Ken Clarke, was sidelined by six votes in the vote last Thursday, alongside seven other pleas, the SNP and Liberal Democrats stand out. being abstained.
Speaking in Berlin, Jean-Claude Juncker called on MPs to band together around a post-Brexit vision.
The President of the European Commission said: "We only know what the British parliament does not want. We have not found what they want yet. In comparison with the British Parliament, a sphinx is an open book. We must make the sphinx speak. We are tired of silence. "
Senior EU officials have stated that it would still be possible for the UK to leave by May 22 if the Prime Minister's agreement, or that including a customs union , was supported this week by the deputies.
"The eight proposals that were rejected previously will now be limited and combined and can be voted on Monday and possibly Wednesday," said Guy Verhofstadt, coordinator of the European Parliament at Brexit, on Belgian radio VRT.
"There was almost a majority in favor of a customs union with the EU. We expect a proposal to have a majority around the customs union, and then we are ready, on the EU side, to renegotiate the declaration and to include that customs union. " , he added.
Verhofstadt then described as "disastrous" but still avoidable the prospect of a prolonged extension of Article 50 and the need for British MPs. He described a vote in favor of a customs union as "the best thing that can happen".
He said: "If this political statement is adjusted, I think that a majority can be found in the British House of Commons because you will get cross-border cooperation between the Labor Party and the Conservatives.
"This new political declaration can then be approved at a European summit on April 10 and we will then give the British the opportunity to formalize this proposal in English legislation by May 22nd."
Verhofstadt's optimism is not equal in all EU capitals, given the British Prime Minister's previous refusal to create a customs union.
In a speech delivered Saturday, German Minister for European Affairs Michael Roth told a public in Berlin: "The Brexit is a big shitshow, I say it now without any diplomacy", adding that "90%" of the cabinet British had "no idea to think, live, work and behave".
He added that it would not be deputies "born with silver spoons in the mouth, who would have gone to private schools and elite universities," who would suffer the consequences of the disorder. "I do not know if William Shakespeare could have imagined such a tragedy, but who will pay the bill?" Roth said.
The British cabinet is divided over whether the government should follow Parliament's initiative if a majority is found for a customs union.
At the weekend, Justice Secretary David Gauke said the prime minister should "look very closely" if MPs were supporting a customs union in a new round of indicative votes.
But on Monday, Secretary General of the Treasury, Liz Truss, who is expected to plan a bid for the Conservative leadership, has voiced opposition to the proposal, falsely claiming that the Prime Minister's accord had lost less heavily when He had been introduced to the Commons. .
Truss insisted that a Brexit without agreement should remain a possibility. "We are well prepared for any deal, I'm not afraid," she told BBC Radio 4's Today. "We are in an era of difficult choices."
The workforce supports the idea of a customs union, but its policy is to demand that the European Union's trade policy have a say. Brussels would probably seek to avoid a dispute over this issue before the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration are finally ratified by the House of Commons.
However, an EU official close to the negotiations admitted that the UK would face strong opposition to something other than a symbolic advisory role.
"When you consider that EU trade agreements are mixed agreements, there is the point of view of the Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament," the official said. "What can you do with a third country? Not much."
During the weekend, Labor Deputy Leader Tom Watson suggested that any Brexit deal be put to a vote of public confirmation to "bring the country together".
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