Theresa May offered Brexit lifeline by Angela Merkel who insists EU leaders give PM ‘one last chance’ to sell Chequers plan to them
Amid mounting fears of stalemate a meeting in September is being lined up for her to convince other nations to work on a trade agreement and not move towards a no-deal Brexit
THERESA May has been offered a Brexit lifeline by Angela Merkel who is trying to broker a meeting for the Prime Minister to sell her Chequers plan to insists EU leaders.
Amid mounting fears of stalemate a meeting in Salzburg in September is being lined up to give her “one last chance” to sell the proposals in her white paper to the other 27 nations.
All negotiations are supposed to go through the European Commission’s lead man Michel Barnier, who has expressed concern Mrs May’s current position cannot lead to a deal.
The is reporting that the German Chancellor Ms Merkel is frustrated the talks are not leading to a breakthrough, and is taking matters into her own hands.
She is said to have suggested they use the summit scheduled in Austria for the PM to hold direct talks to avert a no-deal Brexit.
A government source told the paper it could be “Britain’s last chance” to sell a compromise to the other EU leaders – who will have the final say on whether a deal can be done.
Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, will now have to decide whether to let negotiations on Brexit onto the agenda of the Salzburg gathering on September 20.
The shift in focus comes as the new Brexit Secretary is in Brussels hold a joint press conference with Mr Barnier.
Dominic Raab promised to bring "as much energy as I can" ahead of the crunch talks as he tries to shift focus away from the escalating preparations for exiting without a deal.
Yesterday Mrs May the British public should take "reassurance and comfort" from Government plans to stockpile food and medicines for after we leave.
Today she told farmers at the Royal Welsh Show Brexit offers agriculture a "real opportunity for the future".
While meeting key industry stakeholders at Europe's largest summertime agricultural show, the Tory leader set out the Government's plans for farming policy once we exit the bloc.
She was given a tour of the showcase, which attracts 250,000 visitors a year with 7,000 livestock on show, in Llanelwedd, Powys.
The PM was invited to hang the Best in Harness rosette on shire horse Mr Tumble, shown by Barrie Yeates, remarking that the seven-year-old giant looked "too big to tumble".
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After being shown sheep-shearing, a prize bull, and a foal named Fairywood Thumbelina, Mrs May met farmers to discuss Brexit.
Addressing the meeting, she said: "It seems to me that what we have when we come out of the Common Agricultural Policy is an opportunity to determine what is going to be right for the United Kingdom, rather than being part of policy developed for a number of countries within the EU.”
She added: "Leaving the EU presents us with a unique opportunity to transform our food, farming and environmental policies so we can have a healthy and prosperous agricultural industry that is fit for the future, and helps us to leave the environment in a better place than we found it.”