On 22 November 2018, Theresa May headed back to Brussels for another round of Brexit talks after an earlier meeting with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker failed to settle the remaining issues. The British prime minister said she would return on Saturday as negotiators tried to clear the last hurdles before a planned summit to sign the deal.
The withdrawal agreement itself was described as nearly complete, but the parallel political declaration on future UK-EU relations was still being negotiated. EU diplomats were pushing to have the text ready before a meeting of senior officials on Friday, even as some leaders warned against reopening the main divorce terms.
May said the talks had produced enough direction for negotiators to continue immediately. In a statement, she said: “There are some further issues that need resolution. We have given direction to our negotiators this evening. The work on those issues will now start immediately,” adding that she would meet Juncker again on Saturday.
A European Commission spokesperson said “very good progress” had been made in the meeting between Juncker and May, but added that “work is continuing.” Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel also urged negotiators not to reopen the core withdrawal agreement, telling lawmakers she hoped the matter would be solved by Sunday and saying Germany agreed with the exit deal.
The outstanding issues included fishing rights, the movement of goods after Brexit, the length of the transition period and the status of Gibraltar. Spain had threatened to oppose the accord unless it was given a veto over how any future UK-EU arrangement would apply to Gibraltar, while May told MPs that Britain “will not exclude Gibraltar from our negotiations on the future relationship.”
Pressure on May was rising on several fronts. Her Northern Irish allies opposed a deal they said weakened British sovereignty in the province, while anti-Europe Conservatives attacked the agreement for keeping Britain too close to the EU. Two of her top ministers had quit the previous week, including her Brexit secretary, and MPs from across Parliament were lining up against the withdrawal package.
The deal covered Britain’s financial settlement, citizens’ rights, contingency arrangements to keep the Irish border open and the terms of a post-Brexit transition. It also set out a 21-month transition period, during which Britain and the EU hoped to turn the outline political declaration into a full trade agreement. Rebels led by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg had failed in an attempt to force an immediate confidence vote in May’s leadership, but they warned they would keep trying.
With the March 29 exit date approaching, the risk of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal was growing. May had just faced another grilling at prime minister’s questions in London before crossing to Brussels in search of an arrangement she could still sell to Parliament.
