British Prime Minister Theresa May’s meeting this week with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels could take the UK a few steps ahead in its plan to exit the European Union by March 2019.
Some key Brexit issues are still unresolved, such as the Republic’s border with Norther Ireland, but others have reportedly been settled this weekend, like agreements on the “divorce bill” and citizens’ rights.
European Council president Donald Tusk is yet to see revised Brexit terms, and Mrs. May’s visit to Brussels is in line with Tusk’s deadline to take things to the next level.
The UK may not be able to move forward on its free trade agreement talks with the EU unless key issues are resolved, which is why this week is absolutely critical to Britain and Brexit.
On the one hand there is Tusk’s mandate about no “hard border” backpedaling after Brexit, but on the other there are Tory Brexiteers warning on Sunday that the UK cannot cede further ground to Brussels.
The key element is not necessarily whether an agreement has been reach on the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but whether enough progress has been made towards resolving this and other matters.
As such, the mood in Brussels is fairly positive, and if all goes well the UK and EU will publish a joint report on everything that’s been agreed so far. The sentiment in the UK, however, is that the Kingdom has bowed a little too deeply to the demands made by the EU.
Back at home the EU withdrawal bill is back in the Commons for the fourth day of debate.
For the discussions with Tusk and Juncker, Mrs. May will be accompanied by Brexit Secretary David Davis.
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