U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a crunch series of votes this week that will determine the immediate course of Brexit and the U.K.'s relationship with the EU. On Tuesday, lawmakers will vote for a second time on May's Brexit deal after initially rejecting it in January. If a simple majority of them don't approve the deal, they will then vote on whether they want to leave the 28-member bloc without a deal.

If they vote against a "no-deal" Brexit, they'll then have a vote on whether to extend Article 50 (which sets out the departure process) and delay Britain's departure which is currently set to take place on March 29. May's deal initially failed to win enough approval in Parliament because of widespread opposition to a key part of the deal known as the "Irish backstop," an insurance policy designed to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if the EU and U.K. fail to strike a trade deal in a 21-month transition period post-Brexit. Many lawmakers didn't like the fact that Northern Ireland could remain closely-aligned to the EU due to the backstop and that it had an indefinite nature. The U.K. would also need the EU's agreement to leave the backstop. WATCH: Brexit explained: What you need to know

May and other Brexit officials have returned to Brussels to try to get concessions from EU leaders in the deal to allay the concerns of U.K. lawmakers but they refused, offering only reassurances that the backstop is seen by European officials as a last resort. Now, the Brexit deal is to be put to MPs again on Tuesday March 12, although little appears to have changed.

Deal or no deal?