EU rejects calls to reopen agreement on Brexit

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that Irish support was "an integral part" of the UK Brexit agreement and that it would not be renegotiated.

Speaking to the European Parliament, Barnier said it was "a realistic solution" to prevent a hard border.

British MPs voted earlier this month against the agreement reached by the UK and the EU during 18 months of negotiations.

Instead, on Tuesday, they voted for Prime Minister Theresa May to seek "alternative arrangements".

The United Kingdom must leave the European Union at 29:00 GMT on 29 March. The backstop is an "insurance" policy designed to prevent the return of checks on goods and people along the northern Irish border.

In the current state of affairs, the security system would effectively keep the United Kingdom in the EU customs union, but Northern Ireland would also comply with certain market rules. unique.

This is one of the main reasons why Mrs May's agreement on Brexit was rejected in Parliament by a historic margin earlier in January, critics claiming that a different status for Northern Ireland could threaten the existence of the United Kingdom and fear that the reinforcement will become permanent.

Ms May said that there were several possible alternatives to technical support that she wanted to discuss with EU leaders.

This includes in particular a system of "trusted operators" to avoid physical checks on goods crossing the border, a "mutual recognition" of the rules with l & # 39; EU and "technological" solutions.

She also wants to discuss a warranty period and a mechanism of "unilateral exit" – two options excluded by the EU in the past.

But the message from the EU was that the safety net remained an integral part of the disengagement agreement – the so-called "divorce agreement", which agreed terms of the UK's exit from l & # 39; EU.

Mr Barnier said: "Calmly and clearly, I will say here and now – with this proposed withdrawal agreement to ratification – we need this support as it is.

"Rejecting the security system as it stands today is tantamount to rejecting the solution found with the British, but the problem remains."

The Irish Deputy Prime Minister previously warned of May's future protection plans, saying that anyone who would let "go back to the borders and divisions of the past" would be "judged severely in history".

Simon Coveney added, "Some things are more important than economic relationships and it's one of them."

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that he thought that Ms. May's "personal commitment" was to "not fall back into the dark," but added that the "net security "protection was necessary to prevent it.

He added: "We do not want to use this safety net, [but] no safety net can be really safe if it can be simply removed at any time. "

But British MEP Nigel Farage attacked the EU, saying it had first pushed Ms. May backstage.

The former head of UKIP told the European Parliament: "I accept [Mrs May] makes a terrible mistake by registering on the safety net, [but] you called her at 4:15 in the morning, she left Downing Street, she went to meet the ultimatum you set him.

"She subscribed to something that turned out to be a disaster and she subscribed to something that no country, unless it had been defeated by the war, would have signed .

"We are now aware of this mistake and from the House of Commons, the country is overall looking for an agreement."

"Very cordial"

Just as the European Parliament was discussing Brexit, Ms May and Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn were holding their long-awaited meeting on the subject, following a previous clash with the Prime Minister's questions.

In the House of Commons, Mr. Corbyn has repeatedly urged Ms. May to exclude a Brexit without agreement after a majority of MPs voted against this possibility in another vote on Tuesday.

But Ms. May said, "You can not vote to reject any agreement, you must support an agreement."

Their subsequent meeting, far from the cameras, was "very cordial", according to a spokesman for the Labor Party.

"We had a useful exchange of views, we pleaded for our plan, we had a detailed exchange of views on a customs union and a single market relationship."

The two men agreed to meet again soon, the spokesman added.

Guy Verhofstadt, European Parliament coordinator for Brexit, echoed his colleagues' criticism of the UK for failing to clearly explain what they wanted in the agreement.

He said the two years had been "exhausting" on both sides of the Channel and called on Ms. May and Mr. Corbyn to work together – "not only eating cookies and drinking tea" – to find a multi-stakeholder solution. to stop "using and abusing Brexit to get rid of each other".

Mr Juncker said the votes in the House of Commons on Tuesday increased the risk of a "messy" Brexit, but he still thought that an agreement could be reached between the EU and the United Kingdom. United, adding: "We will work day and night to make this happen, and to make sure we are ready in case that is not the case."