European leaders warn they will not budge on Brexit deal
Jean-Claude Juncker warns this week's vote 'increased the risk of a disorderly withdrawal' and of Northern Ireland 'slipping back into darker times past'
Brussels — European leaders moved Wednesday to head off British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to rewrite the Brexit divorce deal, warning they will not budge. Having thrown out the exit deal May negotiated with the EU, divided British MPs voted on Tuesday to send her back to get an Irish border “backstop” clause removed. May seized on this as a chance to prevent Britain crashing out of the European Union on March 29 without an agreement, vowing to return to Brussels to demand changes to the text. But even she admits she faces a formidable challenge convincing Brussels to re-open an accord that took 18 excruciating months to conclude, and European leaders are so far united in dismissing any such manoeuvre.
“My message to PM @theresa–may: The EU position is clear and consistent. The Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation,” EU Council President Donald Tusk tweeted. “Yesterday, we found out what the UK doesn’t want. But we still don’t know what the UK does want,” he...
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