Theresa May bids to strike 'deal in the desert' on Brexit at Sharm-el-Sheikh summit
The PM will hold talks aimed at breaking the Brexit deadlock with top EU figures during a summit with Arab leaders in Egypt.
Wednesday 20 February 2019 19:07, UK
Theresa May is to fly 2,500 miles this weekend in a bid to strike a "deal in the desert" on Brexit at a summit in the luxury Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh.
The prime minister will hold talks aimed at breaking the Brexit deadlock with top European leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel, during an EU summit with Arab leaders.
The 5,000-mile round trip, a five-hour flight each way, will come after Mrs May meets European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels and ahead of more Brexit votes in the House of Commons next week.
The prime minister was not initially planning to attend the two-day summit in the resort, which is between the desert of the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea and known for its sheltered sandy beaches, clear waters and coral reefs.
But now that more than 20 European leaders have signed up for the summit she plans to use the occasion to press her demands for an alternative to the Brexit backstop in her EU withdrawal agreement.
This is aimed at preventing a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event such a scenario is not averted by a future EU-UK trade relationship.
But many MPs fear it could leave the UK permanently trapped in a customs union with the EU.
Following Mrs May's talks with Mr Juncker, her Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox will hold talks with the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
Announcing the prime minister's trip to Sharm-el-Sheikh, known as "the pearl of the Red Sea", a senior government official said: "This is not a meeting about Brexit. The prime minister is not seeking to turn it into one."
But the official added: "At summits the prime minister always holds a series of bilateral meetings and conversations and she will continue to engage with fellow leaders in relation to Brexit.
"This is not a European Council. It's not a summit at which European Council decisions are going to be made."
The four issues on the agenda for the EU-Arab League summit are security, migration, trade and investment, which the UK government describes as "important shared challenges".