EU sends letter to May ahead of crunch Brexit deal vote

Baku. 14 January. REPORT.AZ / The European Union presidents have offered Theresa May a number of limp assurances in a bid to help the Prime Minister in her efforts to convince MPs to back her Brexit deal when they vote on it on Tuesday, Report informs citing TASS.

Both the UK and EU have exchanged a series of letters as part of a choreographed bid to convince MPs to support the backstop in Tuesday's so-called 'Meaningful Vote'. Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, the EU's most senior officials, co-signed a memo from Brussels that pledges to use "best endeavours" to conclude a trade deal that eliminates the need for the controversial insurance policy to avoid a hard Irish border. Brussels has refused to enter into new talks on the 585-page withdrawal agreement but was happy to clarify that the backstop "is intended to apply only temporarily, unless and until it is superseded by a subsequent agreement".