May puts on a brave face despite EU blow

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May puts on a brave face despite EU blow

Brussels - May came to an EU summit in Brussels seeking legally binding changes to the agreement.

By AP


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Published: Fri 14 Dec 2018, 10:29 PM

Last updated: Sat 15 Dec 2018, 12:32 AM

British Prime Minister Theresa May insisted on Friday that her Brexit deal was still alive and kicking, despite a stinging rebuff from the European Union after she asked for changes to make the agreement more palatable to UK lawmakers.
May came to an EU summit in Brussels seeking legally binding changes to the agreement, but the bloc told her bluntly that a renegotiation was not possible. They offered only assurances they would seek to move swiftly on forging a new trade deal after Britain leaves the bloc on March 29.
Nonetheless, May told reporters in Brussels that she welcomed the EU's words - and that, as formal conclusions of an EU summit, they "have legal status."
"There is work still to do, and we will be holding talks in coming days about how to obtain the further assurances that the UK Parliament needs in order to be able to approve the deal," May said.
May's optimism contrasted with a pessimistic tone from many on the EU side. EU leaders expressed deep doubts that May could live up to her side of their Brexit agreement and vowed to step up preparations for a potentially-catastrophic "no-deal" scenario for Britain's departure.
"Very objectively, the signals that we heard yesterday are not especially reassuring about the capacity in Britain to be able to honour the engagement that was undertaken," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters.



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