Theresa May greeted with barrage of hostility as EU leaders play hardball on Brexit
PM made it clear Britain was still quitting EU during her first EU summit
SULKING EU leaders tried to isolate Theresa May last night with hardball threats if she pushes for a clean ‘hard Brexit’ from Brussels.
At her first EU summit, the other 27 leaders lined up to talk tough to the new PM.
Speaking to the other 27 national heads as a group for the first time over dinner last night, Mrs May tried to mount a charm offensive for a deal that works for Britain as well as the EU.
But she was met by a barrage of hostility as soon as she arrived in Brussels by leaders angry at her plea for immigration controls as well keeping free trade links.
France’s President Hollande warned: “If Theresa May wants a hard Brexit, then negotiations will be hard”.
German leader Angela Merkel closed down any informal discussion after Mrs May’s short speech, saying beforehand that “Brexit is on the agenda, but very briefly”.
And the European Parliament’s firebrand Socialist president Martin Schulz even threatened to veto any deal that meets Mrs May’s dual demand.
German MEP Mr Schulz warned: “I refuse to imagine a Europe where lorries and hedge funds are free to cross borders but citizens are not”.
Mrs May’s slot to speak was also relegated to the very end of the meal, over coffee and petit fours, after long discussions Russia and a Dutch referendum.
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The PM also had to contend with an over-familiar welcome kiss during the summit’s ‘family photo’ from EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
Downing Street insisted the EU leaders’ hard language was just talk, and Mrs May will not be put off by it.
A No10 source said: "It's a negotiation. There are lots of things being said. It hasn't started yet.
"It doesn't change our approach. She wants to be constructive and set out her approach for a smooth and orderly process for our departure, for both Britain and the EU.”
Senior Tory MEP Syed Kamall added: “This is all posturing.
“EU leaders are blowing hard now, but they will soon see sense once detailed negotiations begin.”
Because of the hostility she faces, European Council president Donald Tusk joked that Mrs May’s first summit was being billed as “entering the lion’s den”.
But Mr Tusk insisted: “It’s not true. It’s more like a nest of doves.
“You can be absolutely sure she will be absolutely safe with us and I’m she’ll realise the EU is still the best company in the world.”
Le Brexit or La Brexit? A new debate over leaving the EU breaks out
Never mind ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit, European countries can't even agree on whether Brexit should be masculine or feminine, Amy Morris writes.
France, Germany and Spain are all on one side, firm in the belief that the portmanteau – created from the words Britain and exit - should be the masculine ‘le’.
It also emerged yesterday that Mrs Merkel has ordered all her government officials not to speak to British diplomats about Brexit.
She wants to close down any unofficial back-door attempt at deal making before Mrs May triggers our Article 50 official departure process by the end of March next year.
An Ipsos Mori poll yesterday revealed Brits are still deeply divided in their priorities for Britain’s future relationship with Europe after we leave.
Forty-five percent think Britain should prioritise access to the European Single Market while 39% say it should prioritise controlling immigration.
Considering Theresa May has to negotiate a complex trade deal with 27 other countries the fact the rest of the EU can’t even decide on this doesn’t exactly bode well…