Brexit deal could be voted on by lawmakers next week: Hammond

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British lawmakers could be given a vote on a revised Brexit deal as soon as next week as negotiators in Brussels scramble to clinch last-minute changes to a divorce accord that would avoid a potentially disorderly exit from the European Union.

Unless Prime Minister Theresa May can get a Brexit deal approved by the British parliament, then she will have to decide whether to delay Brexit or thrust the world's fifth largest economy into chaos by leaving without a deal on March 29.

When asked what would happen next week, Finance Minister Philip Hammond said: "There may be an opportunity to bring a vote back to the House of Commons - there may be an opportunity, but that will depend on the progress that is made in the next few days."

EU diplomats later said the two sides were working on a "parallel declaration" or "interpretative instrument" for the border backstop.

European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker (R) welcomes British Prime Minister Theresa May in Brussels, Belgium, February 20, 2019. /VCG Photo

The backstop is an insurance policy designed to avoid border controls between EU member Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland after Brexit. Some UK lawmakers fear the backstop could trap the country in a permanent customs union with the EU.

"We are also looking at updating the declaration on future EU-UK ties after Brexit to give more prominence to the 'alternative arrangements' sought by Britain," said one EU diplomat who deals with Brexit.

"But May won't get any firm wording before Feb. 28."

A British government official also played down the likelihood of a vote on the deal next week, saying it does not feel like Britain will have secured the changes it needs by then.

May, once a reluctant supporter of EU membership who won the top job in the political chaos following the 2016 referendum, has promised to give lawmakers a chance to decide what to do about Brexit on February 27 unless she can bring back a deal.

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks to the press at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

She pressed for "legally binding changes" at talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.

May wants to prevent the "backstop" policy on the Irish border binding Britain indefinitely to EU rules.

Lawmakers on Jan. 15 voted 432-202 against her deal, the worst defeat in modern British parliamentary history, largely due to the Irish backstop, which is intended to avoid new trouble in Northern Ireland.

Backstop

Hammond said May's talks with Juncker, had gone well.

"They were good and constructive talks yesterday," Hammond said, adding that the two sides were talking about giving some guarantees that the Irish border backstop could only be a "temporary arrangement".

Anti-Brexit demonstrators are seen with placards protesting outside the Houses of Parliament, London, UK, Feb. 14, 2019. /VCG Photo

"That is a word that hasn't been used before and I think that is significant," he said. "Both sides have acknowledged that the political declaration could be expanded, for example, to address concerns that have been expressed in some parts of the House of Commons about workers' rights."

People close to the negotiations say discussions have been focusing on what May and Juncker in a joint statement called "appropriate legal assurance to both sides."

Brexit Minister Steve Barclay will be back in Brussels on Thursday, along with the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.

Some senior British ministers have warned May she must agree to delay Brexit if there is no divorce deal or face a rebellion in parliament next week, the Sun newspaper reported.

Source(s): Reuters