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Brexit: EU officials meet to finalise agreement Brexit: May looks beyond Parliament for support for deal
(about 1 hour later)
EU officials are meeting to finalise the Brexit deal and address last-minute demands from Spain for a say on future decisions about Gibraltar. Theresa May is to appeal to the public to back the UK's proposed Brexit deal as Spain demands last-minute changes on future decisions over Gibraltar.
Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez restated his opposition to the deal, expected to be signed off by member states on Sunday. The PM will take to the airwaves to make the case for the agreement, which is opposed by Labour and many Tory MPs.
No country can veto the deal on its own but the EU wants unanimous approval. The terms of withdrawal and declaration on future relations are expected to be signed off by member states on Sunday.
Theresa May has said a deal is "within our grasp" but her ex-Brexit secretary Dominic Raab said what was on offer was inferior to EU membership. Spain wants more of a say on the future of Gibraltar and has threatened to block the deal.
The prime minister will take calls on the BBC News Channel and BBC Radio 5 live later, in a special programme presented by Emma Barnett. No country can block the withdrawal agreement on its own but the EU wants unanimous approval at Sunday's meeting.
Mrs May has said a deal is "within our grasp" after the UK and EU agreed in principle the framework for their future relations - outlining how UK-EU trade, security and other issues would work - on Thursday.
She has insisted the British public want the process to be "settled" and see the UK leave the EU on 29 March 2019, so it can focus on other issues.
In an attempt to go over the heads of MPs, a majority of whom have threatened to reject the agreement when it is voted on next month, she will take calls on BBC Radio 5 live and the BBC News Channel later, in a special programme presented by Emma Barnett.
People can text questions to 85058 or use the hashtag #BBCAskThis ahead of the programme's live broadcast between 12:30 and 13:00 GMT.People can text questions to 85058 or use the hashtag #BBCAskThis ahead of the programme's live broadcast between 12:30 and 13:00 GMT.
EU leaders are meeting to discuss both the legally-binding withdrawal agreement setting out the terms for the UK's departure from the EU and the accompanying non-binding political declaration on the future relationship between the UK and EU. Thursday's document on future relations, known as the "political declaration", is not legally-binding but will be the starting point for negotiations on co-operation after the UK leaves. It has been heavily criticised by many MPs for lacking detail.
The declaration has been heavily criticised by many MPs for lacking detail. This is a separate document to the withdrawal agreement - setting out the terms of the UK's exit from the EU, including the £39bn "divorce bill", citizens rights and the Northern Ireland "backstop" to keep the border open if trade talks stall. This agreement will be legally-binding.
Mrs May addressed the media outside No 10 on Thursday after the European Council said the political declaration - outlining how UK-EU trade, security and other issues would work - had been "agreed in principle". Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab said what was on offer in the political declaration was inferior to EU membership, as it would leave the UK bound by the same rules but without control over them.
"The British people want Brexit to be settled, they want a good deal that sets us on a course for a brighter future, and they want us to come together as a country and to move on to focus on the big issues at home, like our NHS," said Mrs May. He told Radio 4's Today the current proposal would be "debilitating" for the UK economy and its ability to negotiate independent trade deals would virtually disappear.
"The deal that will enable us to do this is now within our grasp. In these crucial 72 hours ahead, I will do everything possible to deliver it for the British people." What happens now?
However, the future of Gibraltar remains a sticking point - Spain has long contested Britain's 300 year-rule of the strategically important peninsula. But education secretary Damian Hinds said he expected the proposed deal to "gain traction" once MPs fully considered the "unattractive" alternatives.
BBC Europe correspondent Damian Grammaticas said the EU was reluctant to let its unity fracture by pressing ahead without Spain's approval, leaving diplomats to find a solution. "If we weren't to pass this deal, I think it becomes rather unpredictable what happens next," he told Today.
"What Spain is demanding is a clear statement added to the exit texts that any future agreement between the UK and the EU, such as a trade deal, would not apply to the territory of Gibraltar, unless the UK secured Spain's explicit consent," he added. "There is a risk on the one hand beyond that of no Brexit at all - and there are people trying to thwart Brexit - and there is also a risk of no deal."
Late on Thursday, Mr Sanchez struck a combative note in a tweet, saying: "After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain far away.... If there are no changes, we will veto Brexit." Meanwhile, EU officials are meeting to try and put the finishing touches to both the withdrawal and the political declaration.
Fabien Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, said the territory was perfectly happy to have "direct engagement" with Madrid over future trade relations but would not be "dragged" or "vetoed" to the negotiating table when it had concluded the existing agreement in "good faith". The future of Gibraltar remains a sticking point - Spain has long contested Britain's 300 year-rule of the strategically important peninsula.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today, he warned that if Spain sought last-minute changes to the withdrawal agreement, that would encourage British MPs and other EU countries unhappy with aspects of the deal to do the same. Late on Thursday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez struck a combative note in a tweet, saying: "After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain far away.... If there are no changes, we will veto Brexit."
Catherine Barnard, a professor of EU law and employment law at Trinity College, Cambridge, told the BBC that Spain's room for manoeuvre was limited as the "divorce" document only had to be agreed at EU level by qualified majority voting, meaning 20 of the 27 member states.Catherine Barnard, a professor of EU law and employment law at Trinity College, Cambridge, told the BBC that Spain's room for manoeuvre was limited as the "divorce" document only had to be agreed at EU level by qualified majority voting, meaning 20 of the 27 member states.
"So Spain doesn't actually have the legal power to block the agreement on the divorce," she added."So Spain doesn't actually have the legal power to block the agreement on the divorce," she added.
What is the political declaration? However, any of the remaining 27 countries can block a future EU-UK trade deal so the BBC's Damian Grammaticas said the EU was reluctant to let its unity fracture by pressing ahead without Spain's approval.
The political declaration is a separate document to the 585-page withdrawal agreement, published last week, which covers the UK's £39bn "divorce bill", citizens' rights after Brexit and the thorny issue of the Northern Ireland "backstop" - how to avoid the need for manned customs posts on the Irish border. "What Spain is demanding is a clear statement added to the exit texts that any future agreement between the UK and the EU, such as a trade deal, would not apply to the territory of Gibraltar, unless the UK secured Spain's explicit consent," he added.
The withdrawal agreement is legally-binding, whereas the political declaration is not. Fabien Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, said the territory was perfectly happy to have "direct engagement" with Madrid over future trade relations but would not be "dragged" or "vetoed" to the negotiating table when it had concluded the existing agreement in "good faith".
It sets out broad aspirations for the kind of relationship the UK and the EU will have after Brexit. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today, he warned if Spain sought last-minute changes to the withdrawal deal, that would encourage British MPs and other EU countries unhappy with aspects of the deal to do the same.
However, some of its wording is non-committal, allowing both sides to keep their options open, which drew criticism in the House of Commons. What is in the political declaration?
'Worse than now' The political declaration is a separate document to last week's 585-page withdrawal agreement, It sets out broad aspirations for the kind of relationship the UK and the EU will have after Brexit.
Dominic Raab, who quit as Brexit Secretary last week, told BBC Radio's 4 Today that the agreement would not be approved by Parliament as it would leave the UK bound by the same rules but without control over them. The new points in the 27-page declaration include:
He said the current proposal would be "debilitating" for the UK economy and the ability to negotiate independent trade deals would virtually disappear. He also questioned whether a new trade deal could be completed by the end of the transition period. The UK government has insisted its Brexit agreement will protect the fishing industry despite claims it is preparing to "sell out" fishermen.
Speaking on Thursday, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn described the agreement as "26 pages of waffle" which "could have been written two years ago" while Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable, who is campaigning for another referendum, described it as an "agreement to have an agreement" that was "full of worryingly vague aspirations". The political declaration says the UK will be an "independent coastal nation" but the SNP has predicted the industry would be used as a "bargaining chip" in the future.
Conservatives Sir Nicholas Soames and Nick Herbert were among a handful of MPs to speak out in favour of Mrs May's deal during the debate.
But many Tory backbenchers were unhappy. Philip Lee, who quit the government in protest at its handling of Brexit, said it "reads like a letter to Santa".
Scottish Conservative MPs are also concerned that the declaration will not protect the interests of the UK fishing industry.
The SNP's leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, said Scotland's fishing rights had been "thrown overboard like they were discarded fish", adding, "so much for taking back control, more like trading away Scotland's interests".
But the government insists the UK's "red lines" on fishing have been protected, and the text acknowledges the UK will be "an independent coastal state" with the rights and responsibilities that entails.
A government source said the EU had wanted "existing reciprocal access to fishing waters and resources [to] be maintained" but this had been rejected.
What happens now?