The European Union negotiator on the negotiations leading to Brexit, Michel Barnier, announced that he had made new proposals to the British negotiators on Friday, 8 March following a meeting with the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven.
In particular, the Twenty-Seven would be ready to legally consolidate the letters of clarification exchanged in January between Mr Juncker and Mr Tusk on the one hand and the British leader Mrs May on the other. These letters were intended to secure a first positive vote on the British Withdrawal Agreement (see EUROPE 12171/2), without success (see EUROPE 12172/2).
Mr Barnier also mentioned the possibility for London to unilaterally exit the backstop for Northern Ireland. This mechanism aims to avoid the return of a physical border between Ireland and Northern Ireland by keeping the entire United Kingdom in a basic customs union with the EU if no bilateral trade agreement is concluded.
This exit from the 'Single Customs Territory' would be possible if all other elements of the backstop to avoid a physical border in Ireland are respected and put in place, including specific rules for Northern Ireland.
In doing so, Mr Barnier's objective would be to avoid blaming Europeans for any failure of the discussions.
Theresa May, who on Friday called on British MPs to vote in favour of the UK Withdrawal Agreement (see other news), could travel to Brussels on Monday, 11 March to record these latest guarantees with Mr Juncker on the eve of another ‘meaningful vote’ in the British Parliament. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)