British Prime Minister Theresa May headed to Brussels on Wednesday to seek more concessions from a skeptical European Union but the surprise defection of three pro-EU lawmakers from her Conservative Party undermined her Brexit strategy.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May headed to Brussels on Wednesday to seek more concessions from a skeptical European Union but the surprise defection of three pro-EU lawmakers from her Conservative Party undermined her Brexit strategy.
Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 but diplomats in the bloc say London effectively has less than a month to overcome the stalemate in negotiations and seal an agreement ahead of a regular summit of EU national leaders on March 21-22.
Last month, Britain’s divided parliament voted down the Brexit deal May had negotiated with the bloc and she has since struggled to unlock a compromise acceptable both to the House of Commons and to the EU.
The decision of three Conservative lawmakers to quit their party over what they called the government’s “disastrous handling of Brexit” has further increased doubts over her ability to get any EU-UK deal approved.
May said she was saddened by the resignations but would still seek a better deal from the EU in time for Brexit. She was due to hold talks at 1730 GMT with the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.
The EU has squarely refused London’s demands to bin a protocol on the Irish border – the “backstop” – that UK critics say could trap their country in EU trading rules forever.
