In another blow at Theresa May’s beleaguered Brexit white paper, the EU’s chief negotiator called it “unacceptable” for the bloc when he met with British MPs. Germans are reportedly preparing for a no-deal Brexit by hiring new customs staff as the talks are deadlocked on the issues of Irish border and trade policy.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier “made clear” that Theresa May’s soft Brexit proposal wasn’t acceptable for the European Commission, a Tory MP who met with Barnier in Brussels told the UK-based talk radio station LBC on Tuesday.
John Whittingdale, who sits on the cross-party Brexit select committee, said that Michel Barnier had proposed a Canada-style agreement with Britain. “What he did come forward with was an alternative which he was working on — which was based upon a free trade agreement such as the one signed with Canada, but with the agreement that we would continue to cooperate on security matters and a mutual recognition of standards.”
Whittingdale went on to claim that the Chequers deal appears to have very few supporters outside the cabinet. When asked whether he would call the proposal “dead,” he replied, “On the basis of what I’ve heard today, yes.”
This is not far from reality, according to a new poll by Sky Data, which claims that roughly 52 percent of Britons disapprove of Theresa May’s proposal. As few as 18 percent of respondents approve of the deal, while 30 percent answer don’t know.
