Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 20 November 2018
UK leader has eye on rebellion as EU braces for Brexit push

By JILL LAWLESS solved, but Spain insisted
RAF CASERT at the Brussels meeting that
Associated Press it needed more clarity on
LONDON (AP) — The U.K. how Gibraltar, the British
and the European Union territory at the southern tip
plowed ahead Monday of the Iberian peninsula,
with plans to have their di- would be dealt with.
vorce deal signed, sealed EU chief negotiator Michel
and delivered within days Barnier said the EU foreign
as British Prime Minister The- ministers “have agreed to
resa May waited to see the principle” of a one-off
whether rebel lawmakers extension of the post-Brexit
opposed to the agreement transition period if the two
had the numbers to chal- sides need more time to fi-
lenge her leadership. nalize a trade deal.
The draft agreement Under the divorce agree-
reached last week trig- ment, Britain would be
gered an avalanche of bound by EU rules during
criticism in Britain and left the transition. It is due to
May fighting to keep her end in December 2020 but
job even as British and EU can be extended by mutu-
negotiators raced to firm al agreement if more time
up a final deal before a Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech at the CBI annual conference in London, is needed.
weekend summit where Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. Barnier wouldn’t give a
EU leaders hope to rubber- Associated Press specific end-date for the
stamp it. The deal has infuriated pro- Two Cabinet ministers, in- day during several votes on extension. It’s a delicate is-
The 585-page, legally bind- Brexit lawmakers in May’s cluding Brexit Secretary the government’s finance sue for May, because some
ing withdrawal agreement Conservative Party. The Dominic Raab, resigned in bill. in her party worry the ex-
is as good as complete, Brexiteers want a clean protest, and rebels are try- May argues that abandon- tension could be used to
but Britain and the EU still break with the bloc and ing to gather the signatures ing the plan, with Britain’s trap Britain in the EU’s rules
need to flesh out a far less argue that the close trade of 48 lawmakers needed March 29 departure date indefinitely.
detailed seven-page dec- ties called for in the agree- to trigger a no-confidence just over four months away, May says any extension
laration on their future rela- ment May’s government vote. could lead to Brexit being must be finished before the
tions. agreed would leave Britain One pro-Brexit Conser- delayed or abandoned, next U.K. election, sched-
May said “an intense week a vassal state, bound to EU vative lawmaker, Simon or to a disorderly and eco- uled for the first half of 2022.
of negotiations” lay ahead rules it has no say in mak- Clarke, urged wavering nomically damaging “no May tried to build public
to finalize the framework. ing. colleagues Monday to join deal” Brexit. and business support for
the rebellion, saying “it is But opposition Labour Party the deal on Monday, tell-
quite clear to me that the leader Jeremy Corbyn said ing business lobby group
captain is driving the ship his lawmakers would vote the Confederation of Brit-
at the rocks.” against May’s agreement ish Industry that it “fulfills the
Even if May sees off such and also try to block a “no- wishes of the British people”
a challenge, she still has deal” exit. to leave the EU, by taking
to get the deal approved The agreement also must back control of the U.K.’s
by Parliament. Her Conser- be approved by the Euro- laws, money and borders.
vatives don’t have a par- pean Parliament. Manfred May confirmed the govern-
liamentary majority, and Weber, who leads the EU ment’s plan to end the au-
whether she can persuade legislature’s largest group, tomatic right of EU citizens
enough lawmakers to back said the initial assessment to live and work in the U.K.,
the agreement is uncer- of the center-right Euro- saying Britain’s future immi-
tain. pean People’s Party was gration policy will be based
It is also unclear what would “very encouraging, very on skills, rather than nation-
happen if Parliament re- positive.” ality. She said EU nationals
jected the deal when it is But, he added, “it must be would no longer be able to
put to a vote, likely next clear to our British partners “jump the queue ahead of
month. that there will be no rene- engineers from Sydney or
May’s government relies gotiation of this text that is software developers from
for survival on the votes of now on the table.” Delhi” — a phrase that
Northern Ireland’s Demo- Luxembourg Foreign Minis- risked further upsetting EU
cratic Unionist Party, which ter Jean Asselborn said the citizens in Britain, who have
struck a deal last year to deal “is the best one pos- faced more than two years
back the Conservatives on sible.” of uncertainty about their
major legislation, including “There is no better one for future status.
finance bills. But the DUP this crazy Brexit,” Asselborn British businesses, longing
opposes the Brexit deal’s said as EU foreign ministers for an end to uncertainty
plans for keeping the bor- met in Brussels before the about what rules they will
der between the U.K.’s Sunday summit of member face after Brexit, have
Northern Ireland and EU country leaders at which broadly welcomed the
member Ireland open after the bloc intends to sign off agreement. But some are
Britain leaves the bloc. on the deal. unhappy with the immigra-
In a warning to May, DUP Most contentious negoti- tion plans, which have yet
lawmakers abstained Mon- ating issues have been re- to be revealed in detail.q