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LONDON – British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday called on her divided government to support a divorce agreement with the European Union in "national interest", while Brexit-friendly lawmakers opposed a draft agreement that they believe would make the UK subject to the block indefinitely.
The May cabinet debated the opportunity to support the deal at a marathon meeting after British and European negotiators broke a deadlock for several months and reached an agreement on the terms of divorce.
Ministers entered 10 Downing Street at 2 pm (1400 GMT, 9.00 am EST) protested loudly – one of the pro-EU protesters, the other from the Brexit Defense Group, Leave Means Leave – chanted and shouted in the street.
Three hours later, they were still inside and May's office said the meeting was not scheduled to end until the beginning of the evening. The Prime Minister had to make a statement outside once it was over.
Earlier, May told legislators in the House of Commons that the draft agreement "brings us a lot closer to what the British people voted in the referendum" of 2016, who chose to leave the EU .
May said that Britain "will regain control of our borders, our laws and our money … while protecting the jobs, security and integrity of our United Kingdom".
She said the Cabinet "will decide next steps in the national interest".
Members of the Brexit Conservative Party of May – a group comprising some cabinet members – say the deal will leave Britain tied to the EU after it leaves and its failure to craft a trade policy independent.
Conservative lawmaker Euroskeptic Peter Bone warned May that she "would lose the support of many conservatives (MPs) and millions of voters from across the country" if she maintained agreement with her.
May's supporters argue that the deal is the best on the market and that alternatives are a chaotic "no-deal" Brexit that would cause huge disruption to citizens and businesses, or an election that could see the Conservative government replaced by the left party. center of the Labor Party.
Former Foreign Minister William Hague warned the "Brexite Specialists" that, if they repealed the May agreement, this could lead to a change of government and a new referendum and that "Brexit could never happen ".
If the Cabinet has not obtained the approval of the government, May's leaders will be in doubt and the Brexit process in chaos, with a four-month departure day of March 29.
If the Cabinet supports the agreement, it still has to be approved by the EU leaders of the 28 countries. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said European leaders had discussed the deal at the Brexit Summit on November 25, although he did not guarantee that nothing would be guaranteed. that many things could go wrong.
Then May will have to win the support of the British Parliament – which is not an easy task, as lawmakers in favor of Brexit and the EU threaten to oppose it.
The main obstacle to a withdrawal agreement has long been to ensure that there would be no customs posts or other controls along the border between Northern Ireland and the UK after Brexit. Britain and the EU agree that there must be no barrier that can disrupt businesses and residents on both sides of the border and undermine Ireland's hard-won peace process North.
The proposed solution involves a common customs regime for the United Kingdom and the EU, in order to eliminate the need for border controls, with some specific provisions in Northern Ireland.
The solution is supposed to be temporary, but British politicians favorable to Brexit fear that it will become permanent, which will prevent it from concluding new trade agreements in the world.
The former Foreign Secretary of Pro-Brexit, Boris Johnson, said that this deal would make his preferred option, a loose trade deal to the Canadian with block, impossible. He tweeted: "The Cabinet must assume its responsibilities and stop this agreement."
The Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, which supports May's minority government, said it would oppose any deal that would subject Northern Ireland to different rules from the rest of the UK after Brexit.
"We, the trade unionists, could not support an agreement that would separate the United Kingdom," said DUP chief Arlene Foster.
May also met the concern of conservative Scottish lawmakers, worried about the significance of this deal for Scotland's fisheries sector.
The Scottish party legislators – including Scottish secretary David Mundell, a cabinet minister – wrote to May that Brexit meant "full sovereignty over inland waters" and that Britain should leave the common politics of Britain. EU fisheries after Brexit.
May is also facing growing opposition from pro-European lawmakers, who claim that his draft Brexit deal is worse than the status quo and that the British public should get a new vote on the opportunity of leave or stay.
Sophie in & # 39; t Veld, a Dutch member of the European Parliament and deputy head of Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt, said the real problem of the negotiations "lies in the UK" because Britain does not know what relationship she wishes to maintain with the EU. .
"This is the real problem, because if the United Kingdom had a single agreed line, supported by the majority of parties and the majority of deputies, the situation as a whole would not be so confusing," he said. she said.
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