EU grapples with Brexit after May loses to rebels

Brussels: British Prime Minister Theresa May will ask EU leaders to move Brexit talks to the next stage at a summit starting on Thursday, just hours after a damaging parliamentary defeat threatened to undermine her negotiating position.

The other 27 leaders are expected during the two-day meeting in Brussels to endorse an interim deal on the terms of Britain’s divorce that May sealed with the EU last week after months of torturous negotiations.

But on the eve of the summit Ms May’s own lawmakers rebelled to demand that the British Parliament have the final say on any Brexit agreement before Britain leaves the European Union on March 29, 2019.

The fresh blow to Ms May’s authority will renew fears in Brussels about her mandate for negotiations on the second phase, which will cover a future EU-UK relationship, including moves towards a trade deal, and a post-Brexit transition period.

EU President Donald Tusk said the second phase of Brexit talks would also be a test for the bloc’s own unity, as it tries to push through a host of reforms after Britain’s departure.

“I have no doubt that the real test of our unity will be the second phase of the Brexit talks,” Tusk told reporters as he arrived at the summit.

Former Polish premier Tusk added that a “lack of unity is very visible” on two key subjects facing the EU after Britain leaves: plans for a way forward on the migration crisis, and proposals for reforms of the eurozone.

European commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker struck a deal with Ms May on Brexit separation issues on December 8, saying Britain had made “sufficient progress” on its divorce bill, the fate of the Irish border, and protections for EU expats living in Britain.

The deal was a rare moment of triumph for the British Prime Minister, who has been struggling to assert her authority since losing her parliamentary majority in a disastrous snap election in June.

Ms May is expected to tell leaders over dinner on Thursday — she will not be at the summit for the Brexit session on Friday — that the interim deal “required give and take by both sides, but a fair outcome has been achieved”, a senior British government official said.