THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Top European Union officials on Tuesday ruled out any renegotiation of the divorce agreement with Britain as Prime Minister Theresa May launched her fight to save her Brexit deal by lobbying leaders in Europe’s capitals.
May began her quest over breakfast with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, a day after she abandoned a vote in the U.K. Parliament to secure support for the agreement thrashed out with the EU over more than a year, sensing that it would be rejected in London “by a significant margin.” While May made no public comment as she met Rutte in The Hague, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the Brexit agreement cannot be re-opened for negotiation at a summit of EU leaders on Thursday, but he did say that elements of the deal could still be clarified. “There is no room whatsoever for renegotiation,” Juncker told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, as he briefed them on the summit.
Juncker, who is set to meet May on Tuesday evening, underlined that “the deal we have achieved is the best deal possible. It is the only deal possible.”
But he added that “if used intelligently, (there) is room enough to give further clarification and further interpretations without opening the withdrawal agreement.” (Fox News)