U.K. Prime Accommodate May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have jointly agreed to continue the discussion on breaking the impasse that surrounds the Brexit operation.
In a statement issued Thursday, after a meeting in Brussels, the pair said that the “Political Declaration”, which establishes out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, would now be “more ambitious in terms of substance and speed.”
The text added that both sides would seek compromise that would “gain the broadest on support in the U.K. Parliament and respect the guidelines agreed by the European Council.”
The pair will meet again before the end of February to scrutinize what negotiating teams from both sides have drawn up.
Juncker’s team cautioned however that any clarification would have to be agreed by the European Parliament and leaders of the other 27 European member countries.
The EU also iterated that a separate document known as the “Withdrawal Agreement” would not be reopened for discussion.
Some U.K. lawmakers who back Brexit pine for a safety net designed to prevent the return of a hard border in Northern Ireland, also known as the “backstop”, to be removed from the “Withdrawal Harmony.” They argue it could trap the U.K. into a customs union with the EU for an indeterminate period.
Shortly after the announcement was issued, the Bank of England cautioned that the U.K. economy was facing its weakest economic growth in a decade because of Brexit uncertainty.
In reprisal to the central bank’s view, sterling fell 0.6 percent.