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Theresa May is to travel to Brussels on Thursday for talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, as she seeks changes to the Brexit deal which was rejected by MPs last month.<\/p>\nTheresa May is to travel to Brussels on Thursday for talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, as she seeks changes to the Brexit deal which was rejected by MPs last month.<\/p>\n
The British Prime Minister is expected to press the case for the Withdrawal Agreement to be reopened to replace the controversial backstop with alternative arrangements for avoiding a hard border in Ireland after Brexit.<\/p>\n
It is her first formal meeting with senior EU officials since the deal which she reached with Mr Juncker in November went down to overwhelming defeat in the House of Commons and since MPs voted for the removal of the backstop.<\/p>\n
Today, Mrs May will make a high-profile speech in Northern Ireland, where she will insist that she can secure a Commons majority for a Brexit deal that \u201ccommands broad support\u201d in the province.<\/p>\n
She will say that it is a \u201cconcerning time\u201d but \u201cwe will find a way to deliver Brexit\u201d that honors commitments to keep the border open.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow Mrs May will hold talks with Northern Ireland\u2019s political leaders including the DUP\u2019s Arlene Foster, who has promised to tell the Prime Minister the proposed border backstop \u201cdrives a coach and horses through the Belfast Agreement\u2019s principle of consent\u201d and would effectively create a new border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n
Ms Foster has told the BBC she could support a deal if the backstop is removed, and criticized the EU’s approach.<\/p>\n
“We have heard a lot about their understanding of the Belfast Agreement, that they don’t want a hard border on the island of Ireland but they’re quite content, apparently, to build a hard border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, thereby interfering with the constitutional position of the United Kingdom,” she said.<\/p>\n
“That is wrong as well and they need to recognize that.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, former first minister Lord Trimble confirmed he is considering a legal challenge to the backstop over concerns it breaches the Good Friday Agreement.<\/p>\n
Lord Trimble told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today program: \u201cWe are exploring this possibility and we are concerned at the way in which the Withdrawal Agreement that our Prime Minister agreed actually turns the Belfast Agreement on its head and does serious damage to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Announcing Mrs May\u2019s planned visit to Brussels, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said: \u201cAs you know, what we have is a procedure involving a number of votes which have taken place in the UK Parliament<\/p>\n
\u201cOn that basis, the Prime Minister will come along to spell out to us her ideas for what happens next.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Juncker has been in constant contact with her and will look forward to seeing her\u2026 to pursue these discussions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we have to repeat what you are aware of, that is that the EU\u2019s position, the Commission\u2019s position, is clear that we are awaiting once again to see what the Prime Minister has to tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n