Theresa May warns EU leaders to soften their Brexit demands or she won’t be able to sell any deal to the British people
Issuing crucial pitch for progress at a Brussels dinner the PM called on them not to push her into a corner
THERESA May tonight warned EU leaders to soften their Brexit demands or she won't be able to sell any deal to the British people.
Issuing a crucial pitch for progress to Europe’s bosses at a summit dinner, the Prime Minister called on them not to push her into a corner.
If they do, Mrs May sent a potent signal that intense pressure on her at home means she may be forced to walk out without an agreement.
Mrs May told them: “We must work together to get to an outcome we can stand behind and defend to our people”.
The PM leaves the other 27 EU heads in Brussels tomorrow morning to come to a key verdict on the deadlocked talks’ progress.
She told them that the “clear and urgent imperative must be that the dynamic you create enables us to move forward together”.
But the PM stuck to her guns on the major sticking point of the divorce bill – money.
During her late night address at the end of the three course dinner, she again refused to spell out any sum that the UK was prepared to pay, or details on how to calculate it.
Instead, she only repeated the “firm commitment” in her Florence speech last month that Britain would pay up what it owes.
No10 refused hard Brexiteers’ demand to walk out of the negotiations when the EU formally turns down the PM’s plea to move onto trade deal talks tomorrow.
Prominent Leave-backing Tory grandees, lead by former Chancellor Lord Lawson and two other ex-cabinet ministers, called on the PM yesterday to set Britain on a course for ‘no deal’ on March 30, 2019 instead of any further kowtowing to Brussels.
But the PM’s official spokesman insisted progress was being made and her Florence speech has “created momentum”.
Mrs May was backed by her de facto deputy, First Secretary Damian Green, who told a Westminster lunch there was no chance of the PM walking out of the talks in the "coming weeks".
But recognizing the intense pressure on her from Brexiteer Tory MPs, a senior government source added: “It’s the reality that the PM is working to a difficult political backdrop”.
After refusing the PM’s plea to declare “sufficient progress”, the powerful German Chancellor said she thought it would be possible to "take the work forward and then reach the start of the second phase in December".
Mrs Merkel added: “I want to keep on doing these negotiations in good spirit”.
And in a highly symbolic scene, Mrs Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron also gave her a very public show of support by flanking Mrs May as the trio walked into the summit room together.
The entrance was in stark contrast to the cringeworthy TV footage of Mrs May’s first EU summit last year when she was caught on camera left alone and friendless in the summit room.
The EU27 are expected to today agree to begin its own internal preparations for Phase Two of Brexit negotiations – a trade deal – which will leave Brussels negotiators ready to begin talks with the UK for one by the end of the year.
It also emerged that Sweden’s premier has instructed its trade body to draw up plans for trade deal talks with Britain.
Ahead of Mrs May’s Brexit intervention at dinner, the 28 leaders also discussed the Mediterranean immigration crisis, defence cooperation and digital policy - as well as what to do about North Korea and Iran.
