The European Parliament will not accept any Brexit deal that doesn’t include a guarantee of a backstop arrangement for Ireland, according to a key group of its members.
The parliament’s Brexit Steering Group (BSG) also argued that the withdrawal agreement – which was negotiated between the UK and the EU over a two-year period – is fair, especially the backstop arrangement.
“The BSG insists that, without such an ‘all-weather’ backstop-insurance, the European Parliament will not give its consent to the withdrawal agreement,” said a statement on the parliament’s website.
It continued: “The BSG reiterated that the withdrawal agreement is fair and cannot be re-negotiated. This applies especially to the backstop, since it is the guarantee that under no circumstances will there be a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland, while at the same time safeguarding the integrity of the single market.”
According to the parliament’s statement: “The UK Government must work together with all political parties in the House of Commons to overcome this deadlock. It expects the UK side to come back as quickly as possible with a positive and viable proposal on the way forward.”
Finally, the BSG said that if no withdrawal deal is agreed on, and there is a “disorderly exit” of the UK from the EU, there will be no other mitigating measure that could be agreed on.
“While a no-deal exit would not be in anybody’s interests, the only responsible course of action remains to continue and to intensify work on no-deal planning,” concluded the group.