Theresa May’s whirlwind Brexit tour has been left in tatters moments after it began after the head of the EU declared there is no room whatsoever for renegotiation.
The Prime Minister barely had breakfast with the Dutch PM on a 1,500-mile trip before her bid to reshape her withdrawal deal was attacked by Jean-Claude Juncker.
The European Commission President said he was surprised Mrs May had dropped a vote in Parliament on her deal which 27 EU leaders had already agreed last night.
He warned it would appear that there are problems right at the end of the road, adding: The deal we have achieved is the best deal possible, it is the only deal possible.
Theresa May Mrs May is seeking assurances today in visits to Dutch PM Mark Rutte, German leader Angela Merkel, Mr Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk ahead of a summit on Thursday.
She wants a new legal text on the backstop that will trap the UK in EU customs rules if there is no deal for the Irish border.
But the EU warned it would not renegotiate the backstop itself – because it is wrapped up in a 585-page document that has already been signed.
Instead the EU is only prepared to give clarification on what’s already been agreed.
Mr Juncker told the European Parliament: There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation.
But of course there is room if used intelligently to give further clarification and further interpretations without opening the withdrawal agreement.
European Parliament President Antonio Tajani agreed, saying: We won’t be changing our position which is now adopted.
Rebel MPs have warned this approach will not change their minds when the vote eventually comes – which would render Mrs May’s new strategy pointless.
Mr Tusk already said last night that the backstop – which would extend EU customs rules across the U.K. indefinitely – will not be renegotiated.
And Mrs May’s DUP allies today warned if that is the case, they would not change their minds to back her deal.
DUP Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson told the BBC: Under those circumstances she’s going to end up with a deal which doesn’t get through Parliament.
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom insisted tactics like Mr Juncker’s were par for the course.
Confronted with Mr Juncker’s comments by LBC, she said: Of course we all know that’s not the case. This is a negotiation and there is always room for alternatives.
She told the BBC: The EU is always in a position where it negotiates at the last possible moment.
If we want to avoid a no-deal Brexit next March we need to go back to the drawing board to ensure that the UK parliament has that democratic capability that it is demanding.
The Cabinet minister suggested Theresa May was seeking changes that would give Parliament an additional democratic ability to decide.
She told the BBC: “That might include an addendum to the Withdrawal Agreement that sets out that Parliament will vote prior to going into a backstop, should that prove necessary, and potentially that the EU parliament and UK parliament must vote every year thereafter to provide that legitimacy for the UK to stay in the backstop, should that prove necessary.
So there are plenty of options for the PM to talk to the EU about that don’t involve reopening the Withdrawal Agreement, but that would provide the legal text as a part of the Withdrawal Agreement, through perhaps an addendum.