PM vows to bag Brexit deal this WEEK despite clashing with DUP over Irish border
Theresa May failed to come up with a deal after a day of high-level talks in Brussels because Arlene Foster's party refused to accept and sign up to the PM's proposal
THERESA May vowed to get a Brexit deal before the end of the week after Ireland’s leader was last night blamed for the UK and Brussels failing to reach an agreement.
Sources at No 10 branded Taoiseach Leo Varadkar “foolish” for claiming victory over the PM prematurely.
After a day of talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, two sticking points remain — how long Euro judges can oversee EU citizens’ rights in the UK, and how to ensure there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. To break the deadlock, The Sun has learned Mrs May offered to align rules and regulations with the EU after Brexit not just in Northern Ireland but across the whole of the UK.
The high-risk move runs the risk of infuriating hardline Brexiteers, who want a clean break from Brussels.
But the PM believes she can sell it to them as it is strictly limited to areas stipulated by the Good Friday peace agreement, such as agriculture, veterinary protections, the energy market and some transport issues.
She also wants to agree “a common set of goals” with Brussels on how to draw up a joint set of future rules.
But sources in Dublin briefed an Irish TV station that the PM had capitulated to agree “no divergence” away from Brussels rules for Northern Ireland — leaving Belfast having to accept EU dictation forever more.
DUP leaders were furious at the suggestion, with one unionist telling The Sun: “We leave on the same terms, so it’s a no-go.”
And he laughed off the suggestion the PM's intervention meant he was struggling to get the job done, adding: "The first negotiator in this process from the beginning has been the Prime Minister.
"She laid out the parameters in the Lancaster House speech. She reset the negotiations at the Florence speech. That's all done in conjunction together."
If there is no agreement at the EU council meeting later this month to move Brexit on then talks on a transitional agreement and a long-term deal cannot begin until March at the earliest.
This leaves just a year to sign on the dotted line before the end of Article 50 and we exit the bloc, which is why Mrs May is so keen to get things moving at December’s summit.
But her room for manoeuvre appears to be limited, with hardline Brexiteers urging her to walk away from the negotiating table altogether if EU leaders refuse to sanction the move to the second phase.
A series of prominent Conservatives including Jacob Rees-Mogg, John Redwood and former chancellor Lord Lawson signed a letter calling on the PM to refuse to settle the UK's "divorce bill" unless Brussels agrees to a series of new demands.
The calls underline the difficulties Mrs May is likely to face when it comes to selling any deal with the EU to Parliament and to her own supporters.
He said there is no longer a choice between "this Brexit and that Brexit; if we don't back Theresa May we will have no Brexit".