Ashley Fox, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Madam President, I’ve heard five speeches this afternoon describe the efforts made to negotiate the Withdrawal Agreement and how good it is. But I’m sure you will all have noticed that this very Withdrawal Agreement was rejected two weeks ago in the House of Commons by an overwhelming majority, so now is not a moment for rhetoric but for reflection.

It was never going to be easy to disentangle the United Kingdom from the European Union but there is now a clearer road ahead, if we choose to take it. I know there are some here – Elmar Brok – still hoping that the UK will stay in the Union and are taking positions based on that hope. But this is not going to happen. It would be wrong in principle to ignore the referendum result and, in practice, it is clear there is no majority in the House of Commons in favour of such a course. The amendment designed to secure a second referendum was withdrawn as it had so little support.

The British Government and the House of Commons wants to leave the EU in an orderly manner and with a deal, and to achieve that we need to change how the protocol on Northern Ireland operates. We must do all we can to support the Good Friday Agreement, but it is a paradox that the backstop, whose purpose is to avoid a hard border, may in just 58 days’ time be the cause of creating such a hard border in the island of Ireland. Let me repeat, the backstop in its current form will not prevent a hard border, it will create it.

Let us all pause to consider this: it may be very easy to sit down to great applause today for a rigid defence of an existing position. History may not be so kind. Because as things stand, we don’t have a deal. There is no deal until both sides have approved it according to their law. And it is simply not good enough to repeat ad nauseam that the deal cannot be amended.

That leads to no deal, and that leads, as the Commission confirmed last week, to a hard border between the United Kingdom and Ireland. So it is my hope that even at this late hour changes or additions can be made to bring a deal safely home. As Mr Barnier said: ‘in the event of a no deal the EU would find an alternative operational way to carry out checks and controls without putting back in place a border’. That’s a quote.

Let us look at that now. Let us consider whether time limits and exit mechanisms offer a solution. Let us proceed with good will, remembering that flexibility and generosity are not signs of weakness but of strength. For what is at stake is not just the draft agreement. At stake is the future partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Let us ensure that we can construct a long—term relationship to promote our common values and our shared interests in an uncertain world. Let us find a way to move forward together.