Brexit: Theresa May secures Cabinet support for draft deal
November 14, 2018
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday secured support for a draft Brexit agreement from her Cabinet after a marathon five-hour meeting.
The British Cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss the draft agreement, while in Brussels, ambassadors from the other 27 EU countries gathered to examine the proposal.
Key developments:
- The British Cabinet has backed the draft deal negotiated between May and the EU.
- Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, May told lawmakers that the draft deal delivers the Brexit that Britons voted for.
- The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, struck a cautious note when he said the deal was making "decisive progress" but that it still required "lots and lots of work."
- Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which props up Theresa May's government in a confidence and supply arrangement, threatened to withdraw support over the deal.
All updates noted in Central European Time (CET).
01:00 We are wrapping up our coverage. May won the support of her divided cabinet over for the draft Brexit deal, but could face even tougher resistance when she takes deal to parliament next month for approval.
21:50 German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas welcomed the draft Brexit agreement, but said Germany still regrets Britain's decision to leave the EU.
"This is a great relief. After months of uncertainty we now finally have a clear signal from Britain," Maas said in a statement. "Britain's decision to leave the EU is and always will be a decision we regret. Nevertheless, we want to continue having a close relationship with our British friends," he added.
21:34 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the draft divorce agreement was bad for the Scottish economy, adding that parliamentary approval would be difficult to win.
"It is obvious that (May) can barely unite her cabinet on this deal, and it is also increasingly clear that she will struggle to get a majority for it in parliament," she said. "If this deal is indeed rejected by parliament then the UK government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one."
21:20 The European Parliament welcomed progress on the Brexit deal.
"It is encouraging to see that we are moving towards a fair deal that should ensure an orderly withdrawal, including a backstop guaranteeing that there will be no hardening of the Northern Irish/Irish border," the EU legislature's Brexit steering group said in a statement.
21:10 EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters in Brussels that the draft deal was a decisive step toward concluding Brexit talks.
21:06 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he has recommended that the EU call a summit to finalize the draft deal.
21:04 European Council President Donald Tusk will meet Barnier at 0750 CET on Thursday, a statement said. Tusk is responsible for deciding when to hold a summit to sign the agreement.
20:48 European Commission released 585-page draft agreement.
20:24 May won the backing of her Cabinet colleagues for the draft EU divorce deal. She did not say whether the deal received unanimous support from the Cabinet.
"The collective decision of cabinet was that the government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration," May said outside her Downing Street residence."This is a decisive step which allows us to move on and finalize the deal in the days ahead."
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19:20 Brexit supporters in May's party will "likely" call for a vote of no confidence in her as their leader on Thursday, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said, citing a senior member of the Conservative Party.
19:10 A meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels ended without any news from London on whether May had convinced her cabinet to back the draft deal.
"Everything is very fragile. Let's remember where we were a few weeks ago when we thought we had a deal and we all know what happened," one diplomat told reporters. "We are still waiting for signals from London. Waiting for the green light. The time schedule is still very tight for EU summit. We need consent from UK on deal," he said.
16:30 A no-deal Brexit would cost Britain about 6 percent of GDP — roughly four years of economic growth — compared with staying in the bloc, the International Monetary Fund said.
14:40 Pro and anti-Brexit demonstrators assembled in Westminster ahead of the crucial cabinet meeting.
14:38 German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier tweeted, warning about the negative consequences of Brexit for both the EU and Britain.
Read more: Brexit: What do we know about the deal, and is it all sorted?
14:16 French President Emmanuel Macron considers the draft deal as an "encouraging sign" but remains cautious as the text still needs to be examined in detail, said government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux.
14:00 Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said EU leaders could meet on November 25 to discuss the Brexit deal if May's Cabinet approves the draft document.
13:58 Prime Minister Questions is over. The speaker of Britain's parliament, John Bercow, said May is likely to make a statement on Brexit to MPs on Thursday.
13:18 Conservative MP Peter Bone said if the draft deal reported in media is any sign of the accord May has secured with EU negotiators, then she is "not delivering the Brexit people voted for."
13:10 While fielding questions at the British parliament, May said she is aware of concerns that the EU would like to keep the UK in its customs union under her draft deal.
"There's a need to have a backstop as an insurance policy," May said. "Any backstop has to be temporary."
12:39 The draft deal effectively delays a decision on the Irish border until July 2020 if EU and British negotiators do not hammer out a deal beforehand, Reuters news agency reported, citing EU sources.
12:21 Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission's chief spokesman, said EU ambassadors will not be briefed about the draft deal by the bloc's top negotiators, Michel Barnier. Schinas has declined to comment on details about the draft, but some more updates are likely in the coming hours, if not days.
Read more: EU Customs Union, Single Market, Brexit — What you need to know
12:10 The draft deal looks like it will keep the UK in the EU customs union with special rules for Northern Ireland, according to DW's correspondent Nicole Ris.
11:31 The view from the EU: "In Brussels, all eyes are on London," according to DW's senior European correspondent Bernd Riegert. "There is some optimism that this deal can be done if London agrees."
11:11 Scottish National Party's (SNP) Westminster leader Ian Blackford insisted that Scotland should have the same right to stay in the EU single market if Northern Ireland is allowed to remain in under May's draft deal.
Read more: Scotland wants to avoid Brexit but doesn't know how
"If it is permissible for Northern Ireland to stay in the single market as part of the backstop, then of course Scotland should be given the same opportunity," said Blackford told BBC Radio Scotland.
11:02 Ever wonder what happened to former Prime Minister David Cameron, the architect of the Brexit referendum? DW's Robert Mudge has the scoop on the politician who started it all.
10:45 Hard Brexiteers — those who back severing all EU responsibilities — have pressured May's Cabinet and parliament to outright reject her draft deal. Former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who is a member of May's Conservatives, said her deal would make the UK a "vassal state."
10:41 May's draft deal could be the elusive deal Brussels and London have been trying to hammer out for months. What do we know about the deal, and is it all sorted?
10:24 The Irish border has been one of the hardest parts to negotiate for a Brexit deal. Businesses on both sides of the border fear the prospect of barriers blocking goods, services and transit. DW went to the border region to examine the situation. Read the gripping story here: Brexit causing concern for business on both sides of the Irish border
The Irish border is the final sticking point in the EU-UK Brexit negotiation, with the future of the frontier far from certain. That is causing worry for businesses north and south, as Arthur Sullivan found out.
Read more: At Irish border, Brexit evokes history of violence
10:11 Earlier Wednesday, Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a junior coalition partner in May's government, threatened to undermine the deal, which could spell fresh elections at a crucial moment for negotiations.
"It's a question of whether we are separating the union, whether we are dealing with the United Kingdom in a way that leaves us adrift in the future and as the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland, I'm not about to agree to that," DUP leader Arlene Foster told Sky News.
Read more: Brexit drags up Northern Ireland's dark past
10:00 Welcome to DW's rolling coverage of high-stakes Brexit meetings in London and Brussels. The day could spell trouble for British Prime Minister Theresa May's government as she faces pressure from within and outside of her party to change the terms of her draft deal.
ap, ls/rt (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)