EU refuses to budge on Irish backstop

The European Union has made it clear to Theresa May as she attempts to break the Brexit deadlock in parliament that it will not renegotiate the Irish backstop, even though it is crucial for her to get the deal passed by Eurosceptic MPs.

There is now less than nine weeks until the UK is due to bail out of the bloc, with no agreement on the terms of its departure from the EU yet ratified by MPs in parliament, after the House of Commons rejected May’s Brexit deal earlier this month.

Irish backstop concessions crucial to appease Conservative rebels

After May had her Brexit deal defeated by the largest margin since the 1920s earlier this month, the root cause behind her lack of support centred around the Irish backstop, with many pro-Brexit Conservative rebels concerned it would leave Britain in the EU custom unions indefinitely.

In reaction to this, May has returned to Brussels ahead of a crucial parliament vote aimed at breaking the Brexit deadlock and asked EU officials to drop the backstop and replace it with something more palatable to MPs.

Irish backstop component non-negotiable, EU says

But despite the prime minister’s pleas, Ireland and the EU Commission on Monday reiterated that the backstop component is not open for renegotiation.

‘The European Parliament will not ratify a withdrawal agreement that doesn’t have a backstop in it, it’s as simple as that,’ Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney told the BBC.