LONDON: British lawmakers will try once again to agree a new approach to Brexit after rejecting Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal for a third time, but the EU warned its patience was wearing thin.
Brussels has set an April 12 deadline to agree the divorce terms May has struck with the bloc, find an alternative or crash out of the European Union.
The House of Commons held a first round of votes last week on various Brexit options but failed to agree, and is now hoping to produce a clearer result on Monday.
The main opposition Labour Party is backing two proposals which would keep Britain close to the EU after Brexit, but both would face strong resistance from May and most of her Brexit-backing ministers.
As a result, she might still try one last time to get her own deal through this week — but time is running out.
The EU has called an emergency summit for April 10 and warned that without a plan, Britain risks abruptly ending ties with its largest trading partner two days later, causing huge economic disruption.
“With our British friends we have had a lot of patience, but even patience is running out,” European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told Italian public TV channel Rai 1. Britain voted by 52 per cent to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum, but the process has been mired in divisions over the terms of the divorce and what kind of future ties to seek.
The political chaos forced May to postpone Britain’s exit from the original date of March 29, but she said it would be “unacceptable” for a further delay beyond European Parliament elections on May 23-26.
Frustrated with her approach, MPs in the House of Commons last week gave themselves powers to find an alternative strategy, by holding so-called “indicative votes” on a range of different Brexit options.
No proposal won a majority in the first round last week and MPs will vote again at 8 pm on Monday, while another day of debate is scheduled for Wednesday.
The two most popular options were a new EU-UK customs union or a public vote on any agreed deal, both backed by Labour.
But while some pro-European ministers might support a customs union, it risks mass rebellion among others in the Conservative government who believe it would curtail Britain’s freedom after Brexit. — AFP
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