LONDON (AP) — The German parliament has approved a motion stating that the Brexit deal can’t be renegotiated, underlining the stance of the government and European Union allies.
The largely symbolic motion was approved hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel and the other 27 EU leaders gather in Brussels.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking reassurances about the withdrawal deal, which she is struggling to sell to skeptical lawmakers.
The German motion states that “there will not be an agreement that is better and fairer for both sides. Any hope that a rejection of the agreement could lead to its renegotiation must prove to be illusory.”
It adds: “It must be clear to all that the finely balanced overall package cannot be undone again.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May has arrived at European Union headquarters for crunch Brexit talks with Irish leader Leo Varadkar and EU Council President Donald Tusk.
May arrived in a sealed-off area where no cameras were allowed, a few hours before Thursday’s EU summit where she is seeking support from her European partners to help sell the Brexit deal to the U.K. Parliament.
Tusk, who is chairing the summit in Brussels, tweeted that he is meeting May separately “for last-minute talks.”
EU leaders insist that the Brexit deal she has reached with them is the only one possible and that it cannot be reopened. However, they have said they are willing to clarify elements of the agreement and provide reassurances about how it would work.
Germany’s main business lobby group says it’s up to the British government “not to waste any more time” and to secure an orderly exit from the European Union.
The Federation of German Industries placed responsibility for avoiding a no-deal Brexit squarely on London.
In a statement, the group’s director general, Joachim Lang, appealed to “those responsible in London to organize a majority to avert a hard Brexit as soon as possible.”
Otherwise, he said companies “will have to press ahead with implementing the necessary emergency measures for a disorderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU.”
Lang said the withdrawal agreement Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to sell in Britain “will help limit the damage on both sides of the Channel.”
