Days from summit, May takes Brexit battle to Brussels. by Dave Clark

The British prime minister will enjoy afternoon tea with the president of the

EU commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, with negotiations set to continue right up

to Sunday's planned deal-signing summit. Neither side has much wiggle room

left to polish the withdrawal treaty nor the political declaration on future

relations that goes alongside it, but May must show that she has left nothing

on the table if she is to convince British MPs to ratify the deal. And she now

appears to have bought herself time to focus on negotiations in Brussels,

after a leadership challenge from anti-European members of her own party

fizzled out, at least temporarily, without a confidence vote. She nevertheless

still faces pressure from her Northern Irish parliamentary allies, who oppose

a deal they say weakens British sovereignty in their province, and from Spain,

which warned it might veto the accord over the issue of Gibraltar. European

Union leaders will meet on Sunday to approve both the outline declaration on

future post-Brexit ties and the withdrawal agreement struck last week, hoping

finally to put an end to the uncertainty over Britain's exit in March. But

political challenges remain on both sides of the Channel. Two of May's top

ministers quit last week over the divorce deal, including her Brexit

secretary, while MPs from all parties came out against it. A leadership

challenge by May's own Conservative MPs failed to materialise, however, and

when she gathered her new-look cabinet Tuesday they agreed to press on. The

withdrawal deal covers Britain's financial settlement, expatriate citizens'

rights, contingency plans to keep open the Irish border and the terms of a

post-Brexit transition. Officials are now racing to agree details of the

accompanying outline statement on the future trading and security relationship

for after Britain leaves the EU's single market and customs union. European

ministers have signed off on the draft divorce terms, but the agreement now

risks being derailed by opposition in Madrid. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of

Spain, which has a long-standing claim on the British territory of Gibraltar,

warned he would "vote no to Brexit unless there are changes" to guarantee

Madrid a say in future relations between it and the EU. Spain wants the right

to negotiate the future of Gibraltar with Britain on a bilateral basis. -

'Show our displeasure' - Opposition to the agreement is also building in the

House of Commons in London, which will vote on the final Brexit deal, probably

early next month. On Monday MPs from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist

Party (DUP) abstained on three budget votes in the Commons and voted against

the government on a fourth, in apparent defiance of their deal to back the

Conservatives on finance matters. Pro-Brexit Conservatives have also savaged

the divorce deal, which they say keeps Britain too close to the EU. Rebels led

by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg failed in their attempt to force an immediate confidence

vote in May's leadership, but warned they would keep trying. He said May had

taken "a deliberate decision not to deliver a proper Brexit". Their opposition

raises the risk of the deal failing and Britain ending its four-decade

membership of the EU with no other arrangement in place. - Bank of England

backing - Despite the opposition, May has continued to defend her deal in

meetings with politicians, business leaders and party members. The withdrawal

agreement sets out plans for a 21-month transition after Brexit, in which

Britain and the EU want to turn their outline agreement on the future

relationship into a full trade deal. But controversially, it says that if that

deal is not agreed in time, Britain will adopt a "backstop" arrangement to

keep open its land border with Ireland. This would keep all of Britain in the

EU's customs union, and Northern Ireland also in parts of the single market.

DM