By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
A key meeting of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Cabinet on Wednesday got underway to discuss the draft Brexit agreement, reached by negotiators in Brussels last week.
Calling for a crucial Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, May had said a draft agreement on Brexit has been reached with the EU negotiators in a major development after more than two years of Brexit negotiations.
According to local media reports, the EU accepted the idea of whole-U.K. customs union with the bloc in a major concession to please U.K.'s demands to protect its territorial integrity.
A previous EU version of backstop would keep Northern Ireland anchored in the EU single market and customs union until a solution is found on the border issue in the island of Ireland.
In return, Britain is reported to have agreed that it will not be allowed to exit the backstop unless and until the EU is convinced that there is no prospect of a return to a hard border.
Parliament showdown
The first criticism to the draft deal came during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session ahead of the Cabinet meeting.
Describing the deal reached with the EU as a “failure in its own terms,” Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accused May for creating a “botched” deal after more than two years of negotiations with the EU.
“Labour Party respects the outcome of the referendum” but it does not respect the mess the country is in, Corbyn said.
“We will not re-run the referendum,” May responded, adding “the U.K. is leaving the EU on 29th of March 2019.”
Reminding the lawmakers about the planned Cabinet meeting, May said she will brief the parliament about the outcome.
She said the parliament would have a “meaningful vote” on the final deal.
Mutiny
The first signs of objection to the draft deal came from Tory benches as Conservative MP Peter Bone said if media reports of the deal are accurate, May is “not delivering the Brexit people voted for.
He warned she will lose the support of Tory MPs and “millions of” Tory voters.
Bone’s remarks signaled a wider objection from Brexiteer ministers and MPs from the Conservative Party, which would make almost impossible for May to get approval of the parliament for the draft deal.
Responding to Bone, May said the deal will end free movement and deliver on the referendum vote, while protecting jobs.
However, sources in Westminster say objections from Brexiteer MPs is very likely to snowball in the coming days.
Three government ministers including former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis resigned due to disagreements on Brexit with the prime minister earlier this year.
Jo Johnson, the former transport minister and a pro-EU politician was the last minister to leave May's Cabinet last week.
Scottish objection
Ian Blackford, Scottish National Party’s (SNP) leader in Westminster, questioned why Scotland cannot have the same deal that Northern Ireland is reported to be getting.
He said “Scotland must stay in the customs union and the single market” to protect jobs.
“If Northern Ireland can get a separate deal, why not Scotland?” he asked, hinting that the SNP would not support the draft deal either.
Scottish government has been accusing the central U.K. government of not including the country in negotiations since the start of Brexit talks.
DUP factor
Arlene Foster, the leader of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who flew to London on Wednesday, already reiterated on Tuesday that she would not support May for a withdrawal deal that would cut Northern Ireland off from the U.K.
Speaking to Sky News, Foster said their 10 MPs in Westminster -- whose support made May possible to form a minority government after losing parliamentary majority in June 2017 election -- would reject the draft text if it tied Northern Ireland to EU rules.
According to the draft deal, the U.K. region will remain aligned to EU regulations in a bid to avoid a hard border in between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
“It's a question of whether we are separating the union, whether we are dealing with the United Kingdom in a way that leaves us adrift in the future and as the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland I'm not about to agree to that,” she said.
It is very unlikely for May to get a green light from the parliament for the draft agreement without the support of the 10 DUP MPs.
Ireland
Meantime, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said an emergency EU summit could possibly take place on Nov. 25, depending on the outcome of the U.K. Cabinet meeting.
Varadkar’s remarks came after reports that the draft deal agrees the backstop option, which will keep Northern Ireland in customs union and single EU market and avoid a hard border in the island.
Last month, the EU leaders had said they were not planning an emergency summit on Brexit in November.
The U.K., the EU, Ireland and Northern Ireland have said they do not want to see a return to a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
What next?
The Cabinet meeting called by May will be followed by a statement from May, which she is expected to issue on Thursday.
The meeting is crucially important as May is required to convince the members of her own Cabinet about the draft deal.
The deal, if agreed and signed by all Cabinet members, will be brought to the parliament for debates and a “meaningful vote.”
