EU to Help Push Brexit Plan Through UK Parl't as May Calls for "Help" - Reports

After what had been described as a “call for help” made by Theresa May during a meeting in Brussels this Wednesday, the German Chancellor stressed that the EU had to travel “all avenues” to find a deal that will be able to get through the UK parliament, The Guardian reported. 

READ MORE: British PM Refers to Merkel and Juncker When Asked How Brexit Talks Are Going

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, agreed with Merkel, reportedly telling other EU leaders that May needs additional “help” to sell a deal in the parliament. The ability of the British PM to deliver a plan that will pass through the House of Commons arose after Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, informed the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, on Sunday that May could not get an agreement past her cabinet or the DUP, on whose votes her government heavily relies.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said it was clear that the roadblock to a deal did not lie in Brussels. “It’s no longer a technical issue, it’s for the political ability of the UK to reach an agreement that can be presented to us,” Macron said. “Mrs. May has been extremely committed and I’m convinced she will work in finding a political solution to get back to the EU negotiators.”

Donald Tusk, in a sign of willingness of the EU to help May, said that Brussels would consider any requests made by the UK for an extension of the 21-month transition period.

"If the UK decided that an extension of the transition period would be helpful to reach a deal, I am sure that the leaders would be ready to consider it positively," Tusk said.

"This prolongation of the transition period probably will happen. It is a good idea. It is not the best idea the two of us had but it is giving us some room to prepare the future relationship in the best way possible," Juncker added.

Prime Minister May faces huge political pressure within her own parliament. On Thursday the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), that is in coalition with May’s Conservative Party, threatened to remove their support for the government over Brexit if an open-ended backstop in Northern Ireland – an insurance plan to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland – is to be agreed. 

The idea of the further extension of the transition period has also displeased many senior Conservatives and the supporters of a hard Brexit. David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, called the idea "unwise" and said it was the wrong time to "take the pressure off" the negotiations. European Research Group Chair Jacob Rees-Mogg asked: "Why is this government so wet?"

The DUP’s deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, said an extension "offers nothing significant on the key issue of the unacceptable EU backstop proposals."

The agreements on the final Brexit deal should be reached by November 16 – the deadline to hold a special summit with the EU and sign a draft agreement. The final Brexit agreement should be signed on March 29, 2019, after which the UK is scheduled to enter the transition period.