Brussels has stepped up its opposition to attempts to reopen Theresa May's Brexit deal as senior Conservatives began talks on alternatives to the Irish backstop. Brussels has stepped up its opposition to attempts to reopen Theresa May's Brexit deal as senior Conservatives began talks on alternatives to the Irish backstop. And senior Brussels official Martin Selmayr insisted there were no plans to offer legally binding assurances to help Mrs May get her deal through Parliament. The alternative arrangements working group, made up of senior Leave and Remain-leaning Conservatives, held its first talks in Whitehall with Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay. Meanwhile the cross-party House of Commons Brexit Committee was in Brussels for talks with senior figures including Mr Selmayr, the European Commission general secretary viewed as Jean-Claude Juncker's right-hand man.

Source: Irish Independent February 04, 2019 18:44 UTC