The U.K. and the European Union plowed ahead Monday with plans to have their divorce deal signed, sealed and delivered within days as British Prime Minister Theresa May waited to see whether rebel lawmakers opposed to the agreement had the numbers to challenge her leadership.
The draft agreement reached last week triggered an avalanche of criticism in Britain and left May fighting to keep her job even as British and EU negotiators raced to firm up a final deal before a weekend summit where EU leaders hope to rubber-stamp it.
Anti Brexit campaigners demonstrate at Westminster in London, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. The EU nations and Britain are still negotiating the outline text of a draft Brexit deal, setting out their future relationship which will have to be ratified by both the British and the European Parliaments.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)The 585-page, legally binding withdrawal agreement is as good as complete, but Britain and the EU still need to flesh out a far less detailed seven-page declaration on their future relations.
May said "an intense week of negotiations" lay ahead to finalize the framework.
The deal has infuriated pro-Brexit lawmakers in May's Conservative Party. The Brexiteers want a clean break with the bloc and argue that the close trade ties called for in the agreement May's government agreed would leave Britain a vassal state, bound to EU rules it has no say in making.
Two Cabinet ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, resigned in protest, and rebels are trying to gather the signatures of 48 lawmakers needed to trigger a no-confidence vote.
May still has to get the deal approved by Parliament. Her Conservatives don't have a parliamentary majority, and it's not clear whether she can persuade enough lawmakers to back the agreement.
May argues that abandoning the plan, with Britain's withdrawal just over four months away on March 29, could lead to Brexit being delayed or abandoned, or to a disorderly and economically damaging "no deal" Brexit.
But Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said his lawmakers would vote against May's agreement and also try to block a "no-deal" exit.
He said "Labour will not countenance a no-deal Brexit," which could cause upheaval for businesses and people. But it is unclear what would happen if Parliament rejected the deal when it is put to a vote, likely next month.
Some Conservative "Brexiteers" say the prime minister should try to renegotiate the Brexit deal - something May and other EU leaders insist is impossible.
The agreement also must be approved by the European Parliament. Manfred Weber, who leads the EU legislature's largest group, the center-right European People's Party, said its initial assessment of the deal is "very encouraging, very positive."
While most of the contentious negotiating issues have been resolved, Spain insisted it needed more clarity on how Gibraltar, the British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, would be dealt with.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU ministers "have agreed to the principle" of a one-off extension of the post-Brexit transition period if the two sides need more time to finalize a trade deal. Under the divorce agreement, Britain agrees to be bound by EU rules during the transition. It is due to end in December 2020 but can be extended by mutual agreement if the two sides need more time.