'EU withdrawal treaty almost ready to present to Theresa May's Cabinet tomorrow'

Pic:Jean-Claude Juncker and Theresa May ( AFP)
Political reporter(wp/es):

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the key elements of the Brexit withdrawal treaty are ready to present to Theresa May's Cabinet tomorrow, reports say.

The Financial Times reports that Mr Barnier told ministers from the EU's remaining 27 member states that "the parameters of a possible agreement are very largely defined" but still need political endorsement.

It comes after a turbulent week for the Prime Minister on Brexit. Jo Johnson resigned as transport minister on Friday over her EU withdrawal plans and today told the Evening Standard she was trying to conceal from voters the bitter price of leaving the EU, even under the terms that she aims to announce this week.

Over the weekend, hardline Brexiteers and the DUP threatened to vote down a deal in Parliament if they thought it threatened the union and could put a trade border down the Irish sea.

Agreeing a backstop, a contingency plan designed to keep an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland until the UK and EU settle their future relationship, has been a key obstacle in the way of a wider withdrawal deal being reached between the two sides. 

Wednesday is now seen as a hard deadline for any agreement to be put to an EU summit this month. Otherwise it faces a delay until next month, forcing billions to be spent on urgent no-deal preparations.

No agenda for tomorrow’s weekly Cabinet meeting was issued to senior ministers before the weekend, suggesting Mrs May was aiming for a breakthrough in time to present a plan for approval.

If talks succeed, a legal text running to 500 pages, setting out withdrawal terms, will be presented.

A separate text is expected to outline a political agreement on future trade and relations, with the final deal subject to more negotiations.