Brexit: the withdrawal treaty will be finalized

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EU officials are meeting to finalize the Brexit Treaty and respond to Spain's last-minute requests to make their voice heard on future decisions regarding Gibraltar.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has repeated his threat of a veto on the agreement, which should be signed Sunday by the member states.

No Member State has this power, but Brussels asks for unanimous approval.

Treasury Minister Mel Stride said the UK would not compromise. PM Theresa May stated that an agreement was "within our reach".

However, many MPs strongly criticized the 26-page statement for lack of precision.

The Prime Minister spoke Thursday to the outside media at No. 10 after the European Council said the political declaration – describing the functioning of trade between the European Union and Britain, security and security Other problems – had been "approved in principle".

"The British want the Brexit to be settled, they want an agreement that prepares us on the road to a better future and they want us to come together as a country and focus on the big problems at home like our NHS, "Ms. May said.

"The agreement that will allow us to do this is now within our reach, and in these crucial 72 hours, I will do everything in our power to deliver it to the British people."

However, the future of Gibraltar remains a stumbling block.

Damian Grammaticas, correspondent for BBC Europe, said the EU was reluctant to let his unit fracture by going ahead without Spain's approval, leaving diplomats with the care to find a solution.

"What Spain is asking for, it's a clear statement added to the output texts that any future agreement between the UK and the EU, such as a trade agreement, does not would not apply to the territory of Gibraltar, unless the United Kingdom obtains the explicit consent of Spain, "he said. added.

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Thursday late in the evening, Mr. Sanchez wrote a combative note in a tweet: "After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain distant … If there is no change, we will oppose our veto at Brexit. "

However, Catherine Barnard, a professor of European law and labor law at Trinity College in Cambridge, told the BBC that the "divorce" document should only be approved at European level by qualified majority voting. 20 of the 27 Member States.

"Spain does not have the legal power to block the divorce agreement," she added.

And Mr Stride said: "We will not compromise on the question of sovereignty around Gibraltar … It would be rather unusual for such things with a particular country to be a keystone."

The political statement is a separate document from the 585-page withdrawal agreement, released last week, which covers the UK's "divorce bill," worth 39 billion pounds. , citizens' rights after the Brexit and the thorny issue of the "backstop" of Northern Ireland – how to avoid the need for manned customs posts at the Irish border.

The withdrawal agreement is legally binding, while the political declaration is not.

It defines the general aspirations for the type of relations that the UK and the EU will have after Brexit.

However, some of its wording is weak, allowing both parties to keep their options open, which has been criticized in the House of Commons.

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Union leader Jeremy Corbyn described the deal as "26 pages of waffles" that "could have been written two years ago".

"It's the blindfolded Brexit that we all dread – a jump in the dark … What has the government been doing for two years?"

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who is campaigning for another referendum, called the agreement "an agreement" filled with "extremely vague and disturbing aspirations".

Conservatives Sir Nicholas Soames and Nick Herbert were among a handful of MPs who spoke in favor of Ms. May's agreement during the debate.

But many conservative backbenchers were unhappy. Philip Lee, who resigned from the government to protest the treatment of Brexit, said that it "reads like a letter to Santa Claus".

Scottish Conservative MPs also fear that the statement does not protect the interests of the UK fishing industry.

The head of the SNP in Westminster, Ian Blackford, said that Scotland's fishing rights had been "thrown overboard as if they were rejected fish," adding "both to have regained control rather than exchanging the interests of Scotland ".

But the government insists that the UK's "red lines" on fisheries have been protected and that the text recognizes that the UK will be "an independent coastal state" with the rights and responsibilities that flow from it.

A government source said the EU wanted "existing reciprocal access to fishing waters and resources [to] to be maintained "but this had been rejected.

What is happening now?

• Theresa May returns to Brussels on Saturday for further talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
• Negotiators are trying to get an agreement with Spain on Gibraltar
• European leaders meet on Sunday to sign the withdrawal agreement and political declaration
• If it is agreed, Ms. May starts the process of getting MPs to support the agreement – most are currently against
• If MEPs support the agreement, it must be ratified by the European Parliament.
• UK leaves EU on March 29 – and trade talks on future relations begin