European leaders warn Theresa May she CAN’T get new Brexit deal after she’s forced to pull Commons vote
EU leaders today warned Theresa May she can't get a better Brexit deal as her strategy went into total meltdown.
The PM was forced to call off the Commons vote on her EU withdrawal deal after admitting she was on course for a heavy defeat.
She is now set to lobby EU leaders for more concessions to help her get her Brexit deal through Parliament.
But Eurocrats and leaders today expressed frustration at the non-stop chaos in Westminster - and warned she won't be able to make any major changes to the withdrawal agreement hammered out last month.
European Council boss Donald Tusk confirmed that Brexit will be on the agenda at a Brussels summit which starts on Thursday.
He added: "We will not renegotiate the deal, including the backstop, but we are ready to discuss how to facilitate UK ratification. As time is running out, we will also discuss our preparedness for a No Deal scenario."
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit envoy, quipped: "I can’t follow anymore. After two years of negotiations, the Tory government wants to delay the vote.
"Just keep in mind that we will never let the Irish down. This delay will further aggravate the uncertainty for people & businesses. It’s time they make up their mind!"
Mrs May wants to renegotiate the "Irish backstop" which is designed to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
MPs are worried that without a break clause, the backstop will trap Britain permanently inside the EU customs union.
But Irish PM Leo Varadkar insisted it would be impossible to tear up the backstop and write a new one.
He said: ";The Withdrawal Agreement, including the Irish backstop, is the only agreement on the table," he said.
"It took over a year-and-a-half to negotiate and has the support of 28 governments and it's not possible to reopen any aspect of that agreement without reopening all aspects of it."
Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok said the EU would "look carefully" at any new proposals from Mrs May - but added: "We know how difficult it has been to reach agreement. So if there will be talks, it won't be easy."
One EU diplomat told The Sun the backstop would be pointless if Britain could just walk away from it.
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The diplomat said: "I don’t think very much will come of this and I can’t understand why she’s doing it now rather than after the vote unless the numbers really were that bad.
"Why would the EU27 throw more meat the UK’s way if it’s never going to be enough? We can’t keep doing this forever."
Mrs May spent the weekend lobbying leaders including Mr Varadkar, Angela Merkel and Eurocrats Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.
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