By Kunle SHONUGA
The risk of a no-deal Brexit has been increasing and the EU commission needs to change its attitude if a deal is to be reached, British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said on Tuesday.
“Everyone needs to prepare for the possibility of a chaotic no-deal Brexit,” Hunt told newsmen in Helsinki, referring to a situation where Britain would leave the EU without agreeing a deal over their future relationship.
“I think the risk of a no Brexit deal has been increasing recently.
“But it’s not what anyone wants and I hope very much that we’ll find a way to avoid that … We do need to see a change in approach by the European Commission,” he said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Aug. 7 that her government had begun negotiations with the EU based on her hard-won Brexit plan, pressing on with a proposal criticised by both wings of her Conservative Party.
After narrowly escaping defeat in parliament over her plans for leaving the EU, May signaled she would not drop a proposal on Britain’s future relationship with bloc – the biggest shift in its foreign and trade policy for almost half a century.
But by sticking to her plan for a “business-friendly” departure, May has thrown down the gauntlet to Brexit supporters and pro-EU lawmakers in her party who are at war with each other, and – for some – with the prime minister herself.
Boris Johnson, her former foreign minister who quit over what is called the Chequers plan, was one of the first to renew his call for government to rethink its strategy, saying “it is not too late to save Brexit”.
At an earlier session of parliament, May stood firm after being challenged by one pro-Brexit lawmaker in her party to explain when she had decided to change her catchphrase from “Brexit means Brexit”, to “Brexit means Remain”.
“Brexit continues to mean Brexit,” May said to cheers from her Conservative supporters. May also said talks had already started with Brussels based on the proposal set down in a white paper policy document on Aug. 7 after her divided government had thrashed out a deal at her Chequers country residence.
The prime minister insisted she was confident Britain had enough time to negotiate a deal with the EU before leaving in March 2019.
While May’s party is in disarray over the plan, EU member Ireland also said it was focusing on the white paper, unwilling to be diverted over the changes to her Brexit plans forced through in parliament this week.
“If we get distracted by individual amendments to individual pieces of legislation … then I think we get dragged into an unnecessary debate that wastes a lot of time and energy,” Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told state broadcaster RTE.
May’s vulnerability in parliament, where she lost her majority in an ill-judged election last year, was laid bare on Monday and Tuesday when she faced rebellions from both the pro-Brexit and pro-EU wings of her party.
She won the votes on a customs and a trade bill, but suffered an unexpected defeat on a separate amendment, which means her government must now seek continued participation in the European medicines regulatory framework.
But the government’s approach to securing victory in parliament has not only deepened divisions in her party, but also raised the issue of trust.
One Conservative lawmaker told Reuters the party whips, whose job it is to enforce discipline in parliament, had threatened to call a confidence vote in May if she lost – a move that could bring down the government.
Johnson, figurehead of the Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum, led those calls in his resignation speech to parliament.
He criticised the government for handing an advantage to the EU by agreeing in the talks to a divorce bill before agreeing a future relationship.
