German FM Maas says if Parliament rejects May’s Brexit deal, there could be new talks with the EU

The German foreign minister has signaled the EU’s readiness for new talks with the UK on Brexit if Theresa May’s plan is rejected by Parliament. No significant changes to the deal, however, are expected.

“The agreement stands, as it is. I doubt very much that the agreement can be fundamentally reopened. If there were a better solution, it would already have been put forward,” German FM Heiko Maas told reporters at the European Parliament on Tuesday.

Maas expressed hope that UK Prime Minister Theresa May will manage to push the Brexit deal through Parliament, which would be a good way to avoid a disorderly divorce. But if the plan fails to pass the legislators, the EU is ready for further talks.

If it goes wrong tonight, there could be further talks. 

The vote on the Brexit plan was originally due to take place in December, but Theresa May made a last-minute decision to postpone it for five weeks. Opponents of the PM accused her of doing so out of fear that the plan would fail in parliament. The delay has also triggered a no-confidence vote against May, which she survived.

Maas’ remarks might be deemed reassuring – to a certain extent – for the embattled May’s cabinet. Earlier on Tuesday, however, Berlin denied that Chancellor Angela Merkel offered any concessions to London. The alleged secret negotiations between May and Merkel were reported earlier by the Sun tabloid, which claimed the German leader floated certain proposals to sweeten the UK-EU divorce deal.

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