Theresa May to bypass formal talks with EU Brexit negotiators and appeal directly to European leaders during her speech in Florence
THERESA May has revealed she will issue a direct appeal to EU leaders over Brussels chiefs’ heads in a bid to unlock a Brexit deadlock.
The PM summoned her Cabinet to agree her plan to offer £18bn in payments into the EU budget for a transition period of at least two years.
Her ‘grand bargain’ for after Britain’s EU departure will be made in a landmark speech in Florence.
Under it, she will offer the controversial cash in exchange for continued single market access and a good post-Brexit trade deal.
Lifting the lid on her fresh thinking for the first time, Mrs May explained why the UK now needs to bypass the formal Brexit talks process lead by Frenchman Michel Barnier.
Speaking in New York while at the UN general assembly, the PM said: “What I’ll be doing on Friday is setting out where we are and looking ahead at negotiations.
“Of course the EU council has given a mandate to the commission, and it has appointed Michel Barnier.
“But the decision will always be one that will be taken by leaders”.
No10 sources have said there will be no cash figure in Mrs May’s Florence speech, but the implication is expected to be clear.
Following Mrs May’s speech, EU Council boss Donald Tusk will come to London next Tuesday for talks with her in No10 on how to take her plan forward.
The PM has already moved to reassume personal control of the negotiations, moving DexEU civil service boss Olly Robbins into No10 this week as her personal EU adviser.
But the shift in strategy risks leaving Brexit Secretary David Davis sidelined, just as he prepares to begin a fourth round of talks with Mr Barnier next week.
Mrs May began her new charm offensive in New York with meetings in the margins of the UN General Assembly with Dutch premier Mark Rutte, Italy’s Paulo Gentoloni and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
But senior EU diplomats have already cast doubt on whether Mrs May’s budget cash offer to fill a giant hole in Brussels coffers until 2020 created by Brexit will be enough.
One said: “We will at least have something to talk about.
“But it is not where the landing zone is.”
An EU Council spokesman added: "The EU position on this is that more than specific figures, it is important to agree on the methodology to calculate the financial settlement".
The UK is engaged in an "internal battle" over its Brexit position, the European Parliament's negotiator has said.
Talks are not going well and Britain's position is not clear enough, Guy Verhofstadt added.
He warned the outcome needed to be positive for both sides as the UK and EU gear up for a fourth round of negotiations next week following Theresa May's major speech in Florence on Friday.
Mr Verhofstadt said: "We feel, hopefully I am wrong, that we don't receive always a clear UK position.
"There is still internal battle in UK about what is their position, what they want.
"For us there was not a problem, there was a single market, a customs union, no one was complaining about that, but by leaving all these points come back."
No10 refused to discuss any details of Mrs May’s Florence speech.
Her official spokesman would only say: “There has been much speculation about this speech, and I’m sure there will be much more”.
