Even though British Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a third vote on the withdrawal agreement negotiated with the EU on Friday 29 March, as authorised by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, Member State Ambassadors to the EU met on Thursday 28 March for Article 50 and to raise the issue of the negotiating position to be held in respect of London after mid-April, should the UK exit without an agreement.
According to several British media reports, ambassadors discussed the tone to be used when facing London and resuming discussions after exiting without an agreement, insisting on preserving the elements of the Irish backstop, and respecting the Good Friday agreement as well as the British guarantee to honour the Financial Regulation.
The Commission had already explained at the end of 2018 that 18 April was the deadline for London, in the event of an exit scenario without agreement, which would signal that the country would comply with the terms of the Financial Regulation (the invoice for commitments made as a Member State).
In any case, it was already planned on Thursday 28 March to devote the ambassadors' meeting to emergency measures in the event of a no deal. This discussion took place, however, just the day after a rather strange spectacle unfolded in the British Parliament, on the evening of Wednesday 27th. Parliament methodically rejected all the alternatives to the agreement negotiated by Theresa May that were tabled, with May’s agreement having been previously rejected on two occasions by MPs, on 15 January and 12 March.
Eight options were on the table for MPs who, earlier this week, had wanted to regain control of the Brexit process. The options consisted of a single market 2.0, a permanent customs union, the revocation of Brexit, a second referendum, and still the no deal option. They were all rejected by the British Parliament, with only the options of the customs union and the second referendum being receiving slightly more positively than the others.
A result that the European Commission has “taken note of”, said the institution's spokesperson, Margaritis Schinas. These indicative votes are part of an “ongoing political process in the United Kingdom that we fully respect; we counted 8 'no’s' last night. Now we need a 'yes' to show the path moving forwards”, said the spokesperson.
According to the British press, Mrs May, who still does not have the support of her Northern Irish DUP allies, would consider a separate vote on 29 March, i.e. only on the withdrawal agreement and not on the political declaration that is linked to the withdrawal agreement. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)