Believing that her deal stood any chance of passing would border on delusional, so any practical tactician - and by all accounts, May is nothing but practical - would, accepting this, pivot toward the next-best thing: doing "everything in their power" to strengthen the UK's negotiating position to win more favorable terms. And it appears May has done just that.
Because, according to Bloomberg, just days after her Brexit plan was "finalized" during a meeting of EU states over the weekend, the prime minister is reportedly ready to public acknowledge a longstanding reality: That, ultimately, Parliament must be allowed to write their own deal if anything is expected to pass. And to that end, May has reportedly dropped her resistance to parliamentary rewrites, and is instead moving toward holding a "meaningful vote", which would allow Parliament to propose amendments to her deal before voting on which amendments to accept, and which to deny, before approving the revised agreement.
But just as May must maintain the perception that she is doing everything she can to pass the deal in its current form, the EU can't be seen giving the UK a pass. So shortly after Bloomberg published its report, the Guardian, a British newspaper, followed up with what sounded like a warning: If the Commons doesn't accept the deal in its current form, the EU will start preparing for a "no deal" Brexit scenario. EU leaders quoted in the story insisted that negotiations have been closed, and that the notion the deal could be changed or reopened is "completely unrealistic."
Brussels will also plough on with the ratification process of the withdrawal agreement in the European parliament to ensure the bloc is prepared for whatever British politics throws up in the coming months.
"Everyone needs to take their own responsibility," an EU source said, in an echo of comments recently made by the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.
The EU is rallying around Jean-Claude Juncker’s insistence that the deal on the table is the "only one possible" given the UK’s decision to leave the single market and customs union.
The idea that the bloc would revise the withdrawal agreement, including the contentious backstop solution for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, is described as "completely unrealistic."
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...ge-brexit-deal
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