Lack of respect in EU for Britain’s handling of Brexit
Leaked document paints a damning picture of UK politicians
The near contempt felt by European leaders at the British government’s management of the Brexit negotiations, and their concerns over the “unimpressive” and “surprising” behaviour of Boris Johnson and David Davis, have been revealed by a confidential report drawn up by the Irish government.
The leaked document, from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, is based on recent meetings with counterparts in European capitals and paints a damning picture of the diplomatic efforts of senior British politicians.
At a meeting between the Brexit secretary, David Davis, and the French ministers for defence and European affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Nathalie Loiseau, on October 23, the British cabinet minister is said to have left his hosts confused by barely mentioning the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
“Despite having billed this in the media in advance,” the paper states, “as a meeting to ‘unblock’ French resistance, Davis hardly mentioned Brexit at all during the meeting, much to French surprise, focusing instead on foreign policy issues.”
A minister in the Czech government meanwhile told his Irish interlocutors that Boris Johnson had been “unimpressive” during a visit in September, but he expressed relief that the British foreign secretary had “avoided any gaffes”, according to the document, obtained by the Irish broadcaster RTE.
The Czech deputy minister for foreign affairs, Jakub Durr, is said to have told officials that “he felt sorry for British ambassadors around the EU trying to communicate a coherent message when there is political confusion at home”.
In Latvia, senior government officials said UK ministers had made “a poor impression on their rounds of capitals and Latvia is pessimistic with regards to reaching an agreement in December”.
The officials added that “the biggest problem is the chaotic political situation in the UK government”.
The British judge in the European court of justice, Ian Forrester, is reported as having bemoaned “the quality of politicians in Westminster” during a meeting in Luxembourg with Irish diplomats.
Forrester told officials that he had “a fair amount of contact” with the British government on Brexit but that he was concerned by a lack of understanding of the process.
He is said to have wondered if the British public might view the UK’s exit from the bloc as “a great mistake” when they realised what it entailed. Forrester is further said to have described British society as “very divided” and noted that it was “difficult to see any solutions to this in the current political context”.
The report adds of Forrester: “His hope was that it would gradually dawn on people what leaving actually entailed, that there might be a slow realisation that this was just a great mistake and the mood might swing back to remaining.”
The document, compiled from reports from Irish embassies across Europe between 6 and 10 November, comes ahead of a crucial few weeks for Theresa May, as she seeks to persuade the 27 EU member states to move talks on to trade and a future relationship.
May is due to meet the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, in the margins of a leaders’ summit in Brussels today.