UK / Belgium / France - Brexit - Angry scenes as rival Brexit groups protest / May: 'Robust' but 'co скачать в хорошем качестве

UK / Belgium / France - Brexit - Angry scenes as rival Brexit groups protest / May: 'Robust' but 'co

(29 Mar 2019) Protests escalated outside Britain's Houses of Parliament on January 29th 2019, as politicians started voting on proposed amendments on a deal to leave the European Union, hoping to end a long stalemate. Dozens of protesters from both "leave" and "remain" camps exchanged chants and dialogue outside parliament. Commons speaker John Bercow selected seven amendments to be voted on January 29th, including replacing the so-called Irish "backstop," to prevent a hard border and extending the Brexit negotiation period. The UK is due to leave the European Union on March 29th. Prime Minister Theresa May urged British lawmakers January 29th to send the EU an "emphatic message" that they would not accept an Irish border guarantee in the withdrawal deal. EU leaders have ruled out any renegotiation of the Brexit deal. Labour Party lawmaker Yvette Cooper, who is behind one of the moves to rule out a no-deal Brexit, accused the government of squandering valuable time. *** British Prime Minister Theresa May vowed that she will deliver the UK departure from the European Union on time following another session of talks with EU leaders. Despite fundamental differences over whether the draft withdrawal agreement May negotiated with the EU should be changed to address strong objections by British lawmakers, May pledged to achieve an orderly withdrawal by the March 29th deadline. May said February 7th in Brussels: "It is not going to be easy." "I'll be negotiating hard in the coming days to do just that," she said. "I am clear that I am going to deliver Brexit. I am going to deliver it on time." She was speaking after what she called "robust" but "constructive" talks with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and said they have agreed to hold more negotiations that could push the sealing of any deal to within a month of Britain's scheduled departure. The two leaders agreed to meet for more talks "before the end of February to take stock of these discussions," a joint statement said. Two years ago, May set Brexit day as March 29th and originally plans were to have a deal in place six months ahead of time. May also referred to comments by European Council President Donald Tusk, who exacerbated the frosty climate on February 6th by wondering aloud what "special place in hell" might be reserved for those who backed Brexit with no idea of how to deliver it. "I've raised with President Tusk the language that he used yesterday which was not helpful and caused widespread dismay in the United Kingdom," she said. "The point I made to him is that we should both be working to ensure that we can deliver a close relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union in the future. And that's what he should be focusing on." *** EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on March 13th the impasse in Brexit negotiations can "only be solved in the UK". Barnier spoke to reporters in Strasbourg as he arrived for a meeting of the European Parliament's Brexit steering committee. UK Members of Parliament on March 12th rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's revised Brexit deal 391-242. The stinging 149-vote defeat stripped away May's control over the course of Brexit and handed it to the UK Parliament, which is divided about what to do next. The EU, which had warned there would be no more changes or negotiations if Parliament threw out the deal, expressed exasperation at yet another Brexit crisis. In a statement, the European Commission said the member states "have done all that is possible to reach an agreement". *** *** 01:08:11 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...