European leaders stood firm late Tuesday after the British parliament voted to send Prime Minister Theresa May back to Brussels to renegotiate the EU-backed withdrawal agreement.

"We continue to urge the UK government to clarify its intentions with respect to the next steps as soon as possible," said a spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk.

"The backstop is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation."

Tusk's spokesman was referring to the Irish border backstop, a measure included in the draft Brexit deal to prevent a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and the UK's Northern Ireland.

"The Withdrawal Agreement is and remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union."

Read more: Opinion: Theresa May's 'Mission Impossible' in Brussels

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'Won't be easy'

Despite Brussels' repeated assertions that there is no room for fresh negotiations, the British parliament on Tuesday voted in favor of an amendment that sees May heading to Brussels to find an "alternative arrangement" to the Irish backstop.

The backstop would keep Northern Ireland (and by extension the UK) in the EU customs union in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

May, who backed the demands in a major policy shift on the deal, said there was "limited appetite" in the EU to renegotiate parts of the draft accord.

"It won't be easy," May said. "But in contrast to a fortnight ago, this house has made it clear what it needs to approve the withdrawal agreement."

Since May's government secured the deal with the EU last year, she has had trouble selling it to British lawmakers, including several in her own party. Earlier this month, the UK parliament shot down the deal with nearly two-thirds voting against it.

Read more: EU lawmakers urge Britain to call off Brexit

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Germany wants to avoid no-deal

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said that Britain must come up with concrete proposals over the Irish border.

What the British envision changing in the backstop is so far unclear, he said.

"On the issue of the backstop Germany and the entire EU are on Ireland's side," he told the Funke Media Group. "We will not allow Ireland to be isolated on this issue."

Roderich Kiesewetter, a foreign affairs lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, said that Theresa May was "under pressure," and that the UK was taking the "wrong approach."

"We have another eight weeks and we should really avoid a hard Brexit," he said. "We should invest all our energy to keep a kind of tarif and customs union and nothing else. There will be no further room of maneuver."

The Green party's Jürgen Trittin accused Britain of "transparent scapegoating."

"It's clear that we won't accept a militarized border in Ireland," he said. That was always the EU's position and it is not in British interests either."

Ireland sounds warning

In Ireland, officials have warned that a hard border on the island would undermine the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of sectarian violence. As such, the Irish government made clear that the draft deal "is not open for renegotiation."

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney doubled down on the EU's position, saying: "We hope (the backstop) will never be used, or be replaced quickly by a future relationship agreement. But it is necessary and tonight's developments at Westminster do nothing to change this."

May has pledged to renegotiate the deal or head back to parliament to vote for a new way forward on February 13. But some say it could be too little, too late, with the March 29 Brexit deadline inching closer without a deal in sight.

Read more: Opinion: Britain, you haven't got time

Northern Ireland's changing border The Irish Free State Britain's response to Irish demands for independence was devolution within the UK, or home rule. Pro-British Unionists didn't want to be governed by Dublin, so two parliaments were set up, for Northern and Southern Ireland. However, nationalists still pushed for full independence and in 1922 Southern Ireland was superseded by the Irish Free State as enshrined in the Anglo-Irish Treaty (pictured).

Northern Ireland's changing border The Six Counties Northern Ireland had been carved in a way that allowed Protestant loyalists to stay in control, but also ensure the region was large enough to be viable. It included four majority-Protestant counties in the ancient province of Ulster, as well as the two Catholic nationalist counties. Three of Ulster's counties — Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan — were placed on the Southern Ireland side of the border.

Northern Ireland's changing border No laughing matter? Involving members of the British, Irish and devolved Belfast governments, a 1924-25 boundary commission looked at the whether the border should stay where it was. It broadly remained in the same place, often cutting through communities across its 310 miles. The Spike Milligan novel "Puckoon," made into a film (above), charted the problems brought to a fictional Irish village divided by the border.

Northern Ireland's changing border Roadside customs checks The new border's checkpoints initially regulated the movement of certain goods, with movement of people being free. However, the Anglo-Irish Trade War of the 1930s saw tariffs imposed on foods and later coal and steel. The dispute ended in 1936, but Ireland still pursued protectionist policies into the 1950s. Customs stayed in place until the advent of the EU Single Market in 1993.

Northern Ireland's changing border Bloody legacy With an escalation in fighting in Northern Ireland in 1969, British troops were sent to the province, fueling nationalist resentment. The border was heavily guarded to stop weapons smuggling from the Republic. The South Armagh stretch was particularly notorious. The Irish Republican Army's South Armagh Brigade is thought to have killed about 165 British troops and police from 1970 to 1997.

Northern Ireland's changing border South of the Border The border was also policed by the Republic of Ireland's security forces, who intensified their anti-terror efforts in the late 1970s. They worked with the British, but the working relationship was not an easy one. To communicate with Irish counterparts, British troops at one time had to speak to the Northern Irish police, who would contact the Irish police, who would then call the Irish army.

Northern Ireland's changing border Watchtowers and rifle sights Despite the end of customs in 1993, the threat of terror still loomed and the border remained militarized, with watchtowers and soldiers. After the 1998 Good Friday Agreement — which brought back devolved government to Northern Ireland and sought to address issues such as policing and paramilitarism — the IRA eventually halted its campaign of violence as border security disappeared.

Northern Ireland's changing border Barely noticeable The border today is as invisible as it has ever been, with free movement of traffic between the Republic and the North. The picture shows two policemen, one British, one Irish, watching as a foreign leg of the 2014 Giro d'Italia crosses the border in Armagh.

Northern Ireland's changing border Anything to declare? There are fears that Brexit would make a hard border necessary, given that Britain appears set to leave the EU Customs Union and Single Market. The border issue is one of three conditions laid out by the EU for trade talks to begin. Brussels says there must be no hard border. Campaigners, like those pictured above, have sought to remind the public of what such a frontier would look like. Author: Richard Connor



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ls/se (AFP, dpa, AP, Reuters)