Uddrag fra FT:
Mr Johnson is still struggling to win backing for the accord from the Democratic Unionist party, which said earlier on Thursday that it was not satisfied with the stance he had agreed on both customs and consent by the Northern Ireland assembly. This raises questions over the prime minister’s ability to clinch support for the deal in Westminster — an issue that is likely to hang over the leaders’ summit.
To help win the vote, Mr Johnson plans to ask EU leaders not to offer any further Brexit extensions, and so force MPs to choose between the new deal and no deal. A senior British official told the Financial Times: “The prime minister will tell EU leaders that it’s this deal or no deal — but no delays. He will not ask for an extension and will not accept one if offered.”
Such a move may also be an effort to dodge the Benn Act, which would force Mr Johnson to request another Brexit extension if parliament fails to pass an agreement on Saturday. Mr Johnson has been forced to make major concessions to the EU in recent days in search of an agreement that can win the support of the 27 other member states. In doing so he has been treading a tightrope — as did his predecessor Theresa May — as he tries to keep the DUP and Eurosceptic Tory MPs on board.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the House of Commons and leading Brexiter, has urged the DUP to back the new agreement. “It is a really good, exciting deal,” he said in parliament. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier hailed the agreement, saying it would provide a “durable” and “sustainable” solution for avoiding a hard Irish border after Brexit and that it could be ratified in time for Britain to leave on October 31.
Det engelske parlament ventes ekstraordinært at holde møde på lørdag for at debattere den nye Brexit deal:
Fra FT:
MPs approve Saturday sitting of parliament MPs have approved a motion for the House of Commons to sit on Saturday in order to scrutinise the new Brexit deal. MPs voted by 287 to 275 to approve the first Saturday sitting of the House of Commons for the first time since 1982. It is likely to be a decisive moment in the Brexit process as it is still unclear if the government has the votes to pass the deal.
