LONDON (AP) Prime Minister Theresa May was set to unveil her new plan to break Britains Brexit deadlock today one expected to look a lot like the old plan that was decisively rejected by Parliament last week.
May was scheduled to brief the House of Commons on how she intends to proceed. There were few signs she planned to make radical changes to her deal, though she may seek alterations to its most contentious section, an insurance policy known as the backstop that is intended to guarantee there are no customs checks along the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.s Northern Ireland after Brexit.
The EU insists it will not renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.
This is the text we all invested ourselves in, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said as she arrived for a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels.
British lawmakers are due to vote on Mays Plan B, and possible amendments, on Jan. 29, two months before Britain is due to leave the EU.
Britain and the EU sealed a divorce deal in November after months of tense negotiations. But the agreement has been rejected by both sides of Britains divide over Europe. Brexit-backing lawmakers say it will leave the U.K. tethered to the blocs rules and unable to forge an independent trade policy. Pro-Europeans argue it is inferior to the frictionless economic relationship Britain currently enjoys as an EU member.
After her deal was thrown out last week by a crushing 432-202 vote in Parliament, May said she would consult with lawmakers from all parties to find a new way forward.
But Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called the cross-party meetings a stunt, and other opposition leaders said the prime minister didnt heed their entreaties to rule out a no-deal Brexit and retain close economic ties with the EU.
