THERESA May was given fresh hope of small changes to toughen up the Brexit deal yesterday as Brussels, Angela Merkel and Hungary all opened the door to a compromise.
Cracks emerged within the bloc as hardliners like Ireland and EU negotiator Michel Barnier were pitched against those who want to show more flexibility.
Top eurocrat Martin Selmayr suggested to a group of MPs that Brussels was ready to give legal assurances on the backstop if it would seal the deal.
Meanwhile the German Chancellor called for “creativity” and “good will”.
And Hungarian premier Viktor Orban became the latest to break ranks with Brussels.
His spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told The Sun on a visit to London: “A conclusion can only come through compromise, and compromise is necessary on both sides. We need a fair Brexit”.
The shard of optimism for No10 came as three days of intense talks began between ministers and leading Remainer and Leaver Tories over the ‘Malthouse Compromise’.
The Government showed “genuine engagement” in the plan for an alternative backstop to keep the Irish border open using technology and stand-off declarations instead of having to follow EU rules, its backers said.
But a ministerial source close to the talks cautioned on any break through, saying there was “a lot of detail to work through” before the PM decides whether to adopt it.
Mrs May hopes to go to Brussels by the end of the week to pitch what changes she wants to the current Irish backstop.
HEAPING PRESSURE ON THE PM
Remainer Cabinet ministers also heaped on pressure on her yesterday by warning Brexit will have to be delayed unless MPs vote for her deal “in short order”.
Justice Secretary David Gauke challenged the PM’s official line that the UK will leave the EU on March 29 by insisting Brexit will only happen then if it is “smooth and orderly”.
He added: “If we are to leave on March 29, MPs need to be backing a deal in short order”.
The PM was also given multiple warnings from across the EU not to try to rip out the current backstop.
Speaking in Tokyo, Mrs Merkel insisted it was “not on the agenda” to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement.
But she said the EU and UK should use talks over the future relationship to find a way of ensuring the backstop is never needed.
She said: “There are definitely options for preserving the integrity of the single market even when Northern Ireland isn’t part of it, because it is part of Britain, while at the same time meeting the desire to have, if possible, no border controls.
“To solve this point you have to be creative and listen to each other, and such discussions can and must be conducted.
“We can still use the time to perhaps reach an agreement if everyone shows good will.”
The remarks came as Mr Selmayr, who is Jean-Claude Juncker’s right-hand man, hinted at new legal assurances being added to the Withdrawal Agreement.
Senior MPs said the top eurocrat raised the idea in a behind closed doors meeting with the Exiting the EU Committee.
Afterwards Labour MP Hilary Benn said: “I got the impression that they might be prepared to consider some additional statement or legal protocol.
“But, the big issue in other minds is will anything get the deal through the House of Commons?”
Fellow Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said Brussels appeared open to “unzip the Withdrawal Agreement very quickly and then zip it up again”.
He said Mr Selmayr had suggested the content of a letter of assurance penned by Brussels chiefs last month could be “copied and pasted” into the deal.
The document, signed by Commission chief Mr Juncker and Council boss Donald Tusk, said the backstop “would only apply temporarily” if triggered.
JUST ‘WINDOW DRESSING’ ON THE DEAL
Mr Kinnock said: “It would be window dressing, but window dressing as embedded in the Withdrawal Agreement.
“It’s an integral part of what would be an international treaty so it would have far more weight than a letter.
“But in terms of content of what it would say he was not offering anything different.”
He added: “They’re ready to offer it but they won’t unless the Government can give a rock solid guarantee that this will get it over the line.”
Former Cabinet minister Stephen Crabb said he had also left the meeting with the sense that “legal assurances are a possibility”.
But he added: “He’s not convinced solving the backstop issue is the thing that will get a stable majority.”
Fellow Tory MP Richard Graham said: “I don’t think it’s impossible if they turn their letters into a legally binding annex or codicil.”
But after the meeting Mr Selmayr insisted MPs had misread his remarks, saying “on the EU side, nobody is considering” reopening the Withdrawal Agreement.
He said: “The meeting confirmed the EU did well to start its no deal preparations in December 2017.”
The German eurocrat also hit back at critics who say he is taking control of the negotiations, calling the claims “Brexiteer propaganda”.
DUBLIN ACCUSES BREXITEERS OF ‘WISHFUL THINKING’
During the meeting Mr Selmayr stressed Brussels is ready to rewrite the political declaration if the UK changes its red lines.
But Mr Barnier had much harsher words on a possible compromise after holding talks with Dutch PM Mark Rutte in The Hague yesterday.
He said the backstop was the “only operational solution to address Irish border issue today” and the EU will only discuss an alternative to it after the UK has signed up to the deal.
Mr Rutte urged Britain to “clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps” as soon as possible.
Meanwhile during a trip to Brussels Mr Coveney railed against the “wishful thinking” of Brexiteers seeking a technological fix for the border.
In a furious attack he said eurosceptic MPs should “take the time to read” the Withdrawal Agreement and accused them of reheating discredited ideas.
He fumed: “What Ireland is being asked to do by some in Westminster is to essentially do away with an agreed solution between the UK Government and EU negotiators and to replace it with wishful thinking.
“I think that’s a very unreasonable request to ask the Irish Government to be flexible on.”
Mr Coveney said the current deal “already allows for alternative solutions to the backstop” so long as it can be proved that they work.
MOST READ IN BREXIT
He said: “The problem has been that none of those ideas around alternative arrangements have actually stood up to scrutiny.
“We certainly haven’t seen any that have. I’ve yet to hear any new thinking that goes beyond what’s already been tested and this is the issue here.”
His remarks came after the EU’s deputy chief negotiator, Sabine Weyand, said Max Fac solutions could not be made to work “in the next few years”.
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News Photo Theresa May given fresh hope of changes to her Brexit deal as Brussels, Germany and Hungary hint at compromise
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