Theresa May confirmed on Tuesday, 12 February in the British House of Commons that a new resolution would be tabled in front of MPs on Thursday, 14 February. This should make it possible to secure the amendments voted on 29 January, in particular those calling for changes to the safety net (‘backstop') for Ireland (see EUROPE 12182).
But the British leader notably informed MPs that, without a parliamentary majority on the changes to be made to the withdrawal agreement negotiated with the European Union, she would make a new statement on 26 February with another resolution on 27 February.
It is therefore only once this work has progressed that the government will decide to plan a new meaningful vote on the exit agreement with the EU, after a first failure on 15 January (see EUROPE 12172).
These formal rather than substantive announcements confirm rumours that Ms May is trying to wait until the last moment to convince her Parliament to approve the draft she has negotiated with the EU, while the negotiating deadline for Brexit will expire on 29 March.
Deploring this 'tactic', Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked the British Prime Minister to think about the 'thousands of workers' worried about their future. The Labour member recalled that Ms May had already announced that a new meaningful vote would be held on Wednesday 13 February.
In front of the MPs, Theresa May reviewed the many meetings held last week and again on Monday between the EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, and his British counterpart, Stephen Barclay. She reiterated her plan to ask the EU for legally binding changes to the safety net and her opposition to the option put forward by the opposition leader for a permanent post-Brexit customs union between the EU and the United Kingdom.
On Monday evening, Mr Barnier and Mr Barclay agreed to continue the discussions, but the official positions between the parties remained similar.
According to Sky News, the former President of the European Council, the Belgian Herman Van Rompuy, was approached to play a mediation role. Van Rompuy's entourage denied it on 12 February in the newspaper Le Soir. The Belgian had dinner on Monday evening with David Lidington, the May government’s number two, at the same place and time as Michel Barnier and Stephen Barclay. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)