May faces hard sell of Brexit deal to MPs, EU

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May has persuaded her euroskeptic ministers to back a plan for closer trade ties with the EU after Brexit, but some of her MPs expressed alarm - and she must still sell it to Brussels.

After marathon talks at her country retreat on Friday, May's divided cabinet agreed on a new "free trade area" where Britain would accept EU rules for goods.

There had been talk of resignations over the plan, which could keep Britain tied to the bloc for years after Brexit, even if officials stress parliament would reserve the right to diverge.

But leading euroskeptics such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson fell into line, despite media reports that he was critical of the proposal.

Cabinet was reportedly told there was no alternative that protected trade and avoided border checks with Ireland, a prospect that could upset the fragile peace on the island.

Several pro-Brexit ministers publicly backed May after the meeting, as did both pro-and anti-Brexit MPs.

The premier expressed hope the deal would end two years of public splits that sparked exasperation among European leaders and businesses seeking a clear path.

'Get serious'

In a letter to members of her Conservative party, she said "collective responsibility is now fully restored".

"The only challenge that needs to be made now is to the EU to get serious about this, to come round the table and discuss it with us," she told the Sunday Times.

But time is running out to secure a deal before Britain leaves the bloc in March.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the plans would be assessed after they are published in a policy paper next week, to "see if they are workable and realistic".

Douglas Carswell, who co-founded the official Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum, welcomed the plan which he said would allow Britain to "incrementally" move away from the bloc.

"A deal that guarantees us access to the (EU's single market) until such time as we chose regulatory divergence? ... Sounds ok to me," he tweeted.

But UKIP founder Nigel Farage, another key referendum figure, said it was a "sellout" and left the majority of the economy "trapped" by EU laws.

Taking aim at euroskeptic ministers, he said: "No resignations means that the so-called Brexiteers in cabinet don't have a principle between them."

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the euroskeptic European Research Group of Conservative MPs, said he would wait for more information.

"If, when we get the detailed legislation, it turns out that it is a punishment Brexit, that it is keeping us in the European Union in all but name, I ... will not vote for it," he said.

Agence France-presse