Brexit: EU opens door to further trade negotiations if Theresa May ditches red lines

Political declaration but not withdrawal agreement could be re-opened, Michel Barnier says

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator has opened the door to re-opening talks about the EU and UK’s future relationship if Theresa May ditches some of her negotiating red lines.

Speaking the morning after MPs rejected the prime minister’s deal, Michel Barnier said the European Council “unanimously” agreed and had “always said that if the UK chooses to shift its red lines in the future, and if it makes the choice to be more ambitious and go beyond a simple free trade agreement, then the EU will be immediately ready to go hand in hand with that development and give a favourable response”.

Ms May has said she wants to end freedom of movement, leave the single market, customs union and jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice – limiting the scope of her planned future trade deal with the EU and ending frictionless trade.

Mr Barnier suggested that there could be no renegotiation of the actual withdrawal agreement, however – which contains the controversial “backstop” hated by so many Tory MEPs and Ms May’s allies in the DUP.

But negotiating changes to the accompanying political declaration on the future relationship could give the prime minister more room to win MPs over – including from Labour, which wants a customs union and a close relationship with the single market.

“Whatever happens, ratification of this withdrawal agreement is necessary,” Mr Barnier told MEPs in the European parliament. “It is a precondition to create mutual trust amongst ourselves looking forward to the second round of negotiations that will start as soon as possible on our future relationship.”

He added that “the backstop, which we agreed to with the UK, must remain a backstop, it must remain a credible backstop”. Tory MPs want to put a time-limit or get-out clause on the policy, which is designed to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland.

Speaking in the same debate, European parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said the question was not how to “break this deadlock” in the UK over the way forward.

“I know it’s not up to me as a humble Belgian to lecture the Brits on what to do, but I think it’s time now to tell our British friends that for the sake of Britain itself it’s time for cross-party cooperation, as we do here,” he said, urging the different factions to “come out of the trenches” and build a consensus.

Elmar Brok, a German MEP and ally of chancellor Angela Merkel, criticised Ms May for reaching out to opposition parties “two years too late”.

He added: “Mr Corbyn has said that he wants a customs union – what he should do is get a majority for the proposal and, once that emerges, that will be no problem for us.”

Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European Commission, said the EU executive “regrets the rejection of the withdrawal agreement”.

“Nobody should be under any illusion: Brexit does harm. It does harm to the UK, and it does harm to the EU,” he said.

Quoting British author CS Lewis, he hinted at the possibility of the UK staying in the bloc: “We can’t go back and change the beginning, but we can start where we are and change the ending.”

Melania-Gabriela Ciot, the Romanian EU affairs minister who is chairing the Council of the EU, said of Tuesday night’s vote: “Given the many conflicting messages that have been passed in the UK before and during the debates leading to the vote, on all sides of the political spectrum, it is hard to single out one particular explanation of this outcome.”

Speaking separately in Berlin, Ms Merkel said: “We still have time to negotiate, but we are now waiting to see what the British prime minister proposes.”

A spokesman for the European Commission speaking to reporters in Brussels emphasised the difference between the political declaration on the future relationship and the withdrawal agreement.

He said: “We are always ready to meet and to talk, but the European Council in its Article 50 formation said in December that the withdrawal agreement – and I repeat, the withdrawal agreement – agreed by the 27 with the United Kingdom, is not open for renegotiation.”

He added: “The next move has to come from London. There is nothing else we can do from here at this stage.”