PM’s visit to Brussels comes despite EU’s insistence that bloc will not renegotiate deal

Theresa May is to return to Brussels on Thursday seeking fresh concessions despite the EU’s insistence that the bloc will not renegotiate the Brexit deal.

The prime minister will meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president on Thursday morning, and Donald Tusk, the president of the European council in the early afternoon.

May is expected to formally seek the reopening of the withdrawal agreement on the back of the passing of the so-called Brady amendment last week calling for “alternative arrangements” to replace the contentious Irish backstop.

May told her cabinet ministers on Tuesday the objective was to find a legally binding way to ensure the UK could not be trapped indefinitely in the backstop, through one of three options: alternative technological arrangements, a time-limit or a unilateral exit mechanism.

Theresa May: I won't put seamless border in Northern Ireland at risk Read more

“Following the vote, work has been taking place on all of the options and it is important for that to take place before we go to Brussels,” her spokesman said.

Downing Street is considering whether May would present just one or a number of possible options when she meets Juncker, although for now all three remain in play.

It is possible that May will make a decision as to her preferred option by Thursday, insiders said, but a more likely scenario is that all three will form part of the negotiations as the summit meetings take place.

The UK expects that the prime minister’s request in person to reopen the withdrawal agreement will not be met warmly on Thursday, but the hope is that serious negotiations will follow thereafter in an attempt to resolve the Brexit impasse.

Downing Street would not say if work by Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, with Conservative backbenchers on alternative arrangements would conclude on Wednesday, or whether the attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, would have finished his attempt to draw up legally binding limits to the backstop.



May’s chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, was in Brussels overnight, ahead of the prime minister’s visit, meeting “a combination of European politicians and officials”, according to No 10.



The PM’s spokesman said: “The point we are at at the moment is that work is ongoing urgently on all three proposals. The PM has set out very clearly in the house what she believes will be required.”

No 10 added that the prime minister was “determined to do what it takes to get the changes required to support the UK leaving the EU with a deal”.



In Belfast on Wednesday, May will meet representatives from the UUP, Alliance, SDLP, DUP and Sinn Féin, and the leader of the Northern Ireland Conservatives.



May will then return on the UK but not in time for prime minister’s questions, which will instead be taken by her de facto deputy, David Lidington.

May will travel to Brussels on Thursday, where it is also understood that she will hold talks with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, following her 11am meeting with the commission president. No other ministers are expected to travel with her.

May will also meet the European council president, Donald Tusk, on Thursday. Tusk is expected to offer his solidarity with the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, during a press conference on Wednesday, following their meeting in Brussels.

During a meeting with a group of MPs on Monday, Juncker’s aide Martin Selmayr said a formal request for a renegotiation had yet to be tabled by Downing Street.

Selmayr, the European commission’s secretary-general, ruled out reopening the withdrawal agreement. But he asked the cross-party delegation from the select committee for exiting the EU if they would support the deal if an additional legal assurance on the temporary nature of the backstop was made.

The Brexiters in the visiting group were unable to offer a clear response, leading to Selmayr tweeting later that he was reassured that the EU had been right to start its no-deal preparations in 2017.

Selmayr also denied MPs’ claims that his comments amounted to an offer of a legal adjunct to the withdrawal agreement.

On Tuesday, the commission’s chief spokesman said a press officer had been in the room taking notes as “this was a meeting that would be likely to be misrepresented”.

He said: “I can tell you that I am very well informed that what you have read in the secretary-general’s tweet is exactly what happened.”

Brexiters want the Irish backstop, which foresees the UK staying in a customs union to avoid a hard Irish border should there be no alternative, to be removed from the withdrawal agreement, or amended to be limited in time.

The EU’s leaders insist the backstop is necessary to avoid any possibility of a hard border and a breakdown in the Irish peace process.

Asked if the EU expected new proposals from May, the commission spokesman declined to speculate: “For us, as you know, the backstop, which is part of the withdrawal agreement, is the central piece, is of fundamental importance.”