British lawmakers rejected proposals by pro-European Union politicians Wednesday that were intended to lock the U.K. into the bloc's customs union and single market after Brexit.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly session of PMQs at parliament in London, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The results were a victory for Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative government, which is determined to take the country out of the EU next year. But May's fragile minority administration faces more bumps ahead as it tries to forge an exit route while being buffeted by both sides of Britain's debate about Europe.
Britain's Foreign Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The House of Commons voted by a wide margin against a call to join the European Economic Area — a club that includes the EU nations and Norway — after Conservative and opposition Labour leaderships opposed it.
Lawmakers also rejected, much more narrowly, calls to keep the U.K. in a customs union with the EU.
The votes came after two days of bruising debate on the government's key piece of Brexit legislation — the European Union Withdrawal Bill, intended to disentangle Britain from the 28-nation bloc after four decades of membership. In a series of votes the House of Commons largely reversed changes inserted by Parliament's upper House of Lords that would have softened the terms of Brexit.
A badge is worn by a pro-EU demonstrator outside Parliament in London, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. The British government is bracing for more bruising debate on its key Brexit bill, after being forced to give ground to pro-EU lawmakers to avoid defeat.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
But it is likely only a temporary reprieve. Many lawmakers said it seemed likely that Britain would have to remain in a customs union with the EU, even though the government insists it will leave. The government says leaving the customs union will free the country to strike trade deals around the world. But many businesses fear it will mean tariffs or other barriers for British goods in Europe.
It also threatens the currently invisible border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member. The withdrawal bill promises that the border will stay open and there will be no "physical infrastructure, including border posts, or checks and controls." But the British government has not said how that can be achieved if the U.K. and the EU have different customs rules.
Pro-EU Conservative Heidi Allen said it was inevitable "we will have to come to a customs union agreement," even if it was given another label.
"Partnership, love dance — don't care what you call it, that's what we will need to avoid any border to Northern Ireland," she said.
The government was forced to give ground to pro-EU lawmakers in one key area, promising that Parliament would get more say over the U.K.-EU divorce deal.
Many pro-EU lawmakers want Parliament to be able to send the government back to the negotiating table if they don't like the terms of the deal, or if talks with the bloc break down.
Pro-Brexit lawmakers worry Parliament could use that power to delay Britain's departure, or stop it altogether.
May said the government would amend the bill to address legislators' concerns, but warned that "I cannot countenance Parliament being able to overturn the will of the British people."
"The British people voted to leave the European Union, and as prime minister I'm determined to deliver that," she told lawmakers.
It has been two years since Britain voted by 52-48 percent to exit the EU, and there are eight months until the U.K. is due to leave the bloc on March 29, 2019.
But Britain — and its government — remain divided over Brexit, and EU leaders are frustrated with what they see as a lack of firm proposals from the U.K about future relations.
May's government is divided between Brexit-backing ministers such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who support a clean break with the EU, and those such as Treasury chief Philip Hammond who want to keep closely aligned to the bloc, Britain's biggest trading partner.
A paper laying out the U.K. government position on future relations, due to be published this month, has been delayed until July because the Cabinet cannot agree on a united stance.
Brexit has also complicated relations between the British government and Scotland, where a majority voted in 2016 to stay in the EU. Scottish National Party lawmakers walked out of the House of Commons Wednesday to protest the short amount of time given to debate Scotland-related issues the day before — 20 minutes out of a six-hour session.
The pro-independence party accuses the British government of trying to seize powers that will be handed back from Brussels after Brexit and which the SNP believes should go to Scotland's Edinburgh-based parliament.
Ian Blackford, the SNP leader in Parliament, called the situation "a democratic outrage."
"Scotland's voice has not been heard," said Blackford, who was expelled from the chamber for repeatedly challenging the Speaker on the issue, sparking a walkout by his colleagues.
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda says it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled and controversial bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some of them to the East African country.
There is even a place ready and waiting for the migrants — a refurbished Hope Hostel in the vibrant upscale neighborhood of Kagugu, an area of the Rwandan capital of Kigali that is home to many expats and several international schools.
The hostel once housed college students whose parents died in the 1994 genocide, this African nation’s most horrific period in history when an estimated 800,000 Tutsi were killed by extremist Hutu in massacres that lasted over 100 days.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged the deportation flights would begin in July but has refused to provide details or say about how many people would be deported.
Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda told The Associated Press on Tuesday that authorities here have been planning for the migrants' arrival for two years.
“Even if they arrive now or tomorrow, all arrangements are in place,” he said.
The plan was long held up in British courts and by opposition from human rights activists who say it is illegal and inhumane. It envisages deporting to Rwanda some of those who enter the U.K. illegally and migrant advocates have vowed to continue to fight against the plan.
The measure is also meant to be a deterrent to migrants who risk their lives in leaky, inflatable boats in hopes that they will be able to claim asylum once they reach Britain. The U.K. also signed a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for migrants, and adopted new legislation declaring Rwanda to be a safe country.
“The Rwanda critics and the U.K. judges who earlier said Rwanda is not a safe country have been proven wrong,” Mukuralinda said. “Rwanda is safe.”
The management at the four-story Hope Hostel says the facility is ready and can accommodate 100 people at full capacity. The government says it will serve as a transit center and that more accommodations would be made available as needed.
Thousands of migrants arrive in Britain every year.
After they arrive from Britain, the migrants will be shown to their rooms to rest, after which they will be offered food and given some orientation points about Kigali and Rwanda, said hostel manager Ismael Bakina.
Tents will be set up within the hostel's compound for processing their documentation and for various briefings. The site is equipped with security cameras, visible across the compound.
Within the compound are also entertainment places, a mini-soccer field, a basketball and a volleyball court as well as a red-carpeted prayer room. For those who want to light up, "there is even a smoking room," Bakina explained.
Meals will be prepared in the hostel's main kitchen but provisions are also being made for those who want to prepare their own meals, he said. The migrants will be free to walk outside the hostel and even visit the nearby Kigali city center.
“We will have different translators, according to (their) languages," Bakina added, saying they include English and Arabic.
The government has said the migrants will have their papers processed within the first three months. Those who want to remain in Rwanda will be allowed to do so while authorities will also assist those who wish to return to their home countries.
While in Rwanda, migrants who obtain legal status — presumably for Britain — will also be processed, authorities have said, though it's unclear what that means exactly.
For those who choose to stay, Mukurilinda said Rwanda's government will bear full financial and other responsibilities for five years, after which they will be considered integrated into the society.
At that point, they can start managing on their own.
Follow AP’s global migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
A view of Hope Hostel one of the locations where the asylum seekers from the U.K. are expected to arrive in the next 10-12 weeks in Kigali, Rwanda, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The management of the hostel where the migrants are to stay in, Hope Hostel, says the facility is ready to accommodate 100 migrants. (AP Photo/Atulinda Allan)
A view of Hope Hostel one of the locations where the asylum seekers from the U.K. are expected to arrive in the next 10-12 weeks in Kigali, Rwanda, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The management of the hostel where the migrants are to stay in, Hope Hostel, says the facility is ready to accommodate 100 migrants. (AP Photo/Atulinda Allan)
A basketball court with a volleyball play ground at Hope Hostel, where U.K. asylum seekers from the U.K. are expected to arrive in the next 10-12 weeks in Kigali, Rwanda, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The management of the hostel where the migrants are to stay in, Hope Hostel, says the facility is ready to accommodate 100 migrants. (AP Photo/Atulinda Allan)
FILE - A security guard stands in the reception area of the Hope Hostel, which is one of the locations expected to house some of the asylum-seekers due to be sent from Britain to Rwanda, in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on June 10, 2022. Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said Tuesday, April 23, 2024, it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some to the East African country. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - A bedroom is seen inside the Hope Hostel, which is one of the locations expected to house some of the asylum-seekers due to be sent from Britain to Rwanda, in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on June 10, 2022. Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said Tuesday, April 23, 2024, it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some to the East African country. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - The interior of the Hope Hostel, which is one of the locations expected to house some of the asylum-seekers due to be sent from Britain to Rwanda, is seen in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on June 10, 2022. Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said Tuesday, April 23, 2024, it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some to the East African country. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - The exterior of the Hope Hostel, which is one of the locations expected to house some of the asylum-seekers due to be sent from Britain to Rwanda, is seen in the capital Kigali, Rwanda on June 10, 2022. Rwanda government's deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said Tuesday, April 23, 2024, it's ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some to the East African country. (AP Photo, File)
