May tells EU: We are leaving
THERESA May faced an angry backlash last night as she warned European leaders that Britain will not retreat from Brexit.
The Prime Minister was given a frosty reception in Brussels on arriving to deliver her stark message at her first EU summit since taking over in Downing Street.
French President Francois Hollande curtly told her to expect “hard negotiations” and senior Eurocrats signalled their readiness to dig in for a lengthy diplomatic battle.
But Mrs May defied their jibes to calmly set out her position that the UK’s Brexit vote cannot be reversed. Her allies dismissed the EU warnings as “posturing”.
On arriving at the summit of all 28 EU leaders, the Prime Minister said: “This is my first European Council and I’m here with a very clear message. The UK is leaving the EU but we will continue to play a full role until we leave and we’ll be a strong and dependable partner after we have left.
“It’s in the interests of both the UK and the EU that we continue to work closely together, including at this summit.”
Mrs May, who was given a kiss on the cheek by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on her arrival, was granted less than 15 minutes during a working dinner last night to set out her latest thinking on the Brexit process.
Her message was expected to be greeted with a chilly silence around the summit table. The tone of the evening was set by President Hollande as he arrived.
He said: “I say very firmly, if Mrs May wants a hard Brexit, the negotiations will be hard.”
European Parliament President Martin Schulz taunted Mrs May over her decision to delay triggering Article 50, the legal mechanism for leaving the EU, until next year.
Citizens
Mr Schulz said: “Announcing to trigger Article 50 is not to trigger Article 50. We should not run in a trap. The announcement is not a fact. They have decided to leave the single market and they want full access to the single market after leaving the European Union. That’s only possible by accepting the fundamental rules of the European Union.”
Addressing EU leaders at the opening of the summit he urged them to “stand firm” in defending free movement of EU citizens in negotiations with the UK.
Mr Schulz said: “An overwhelming majority in the European Parliament expects you to stand firm when designing the EU’s future relationship with the UK.
“The fundamental freedoms are inseparable – no freedom of movement for goods, capital and services without free movement of persons.”
Meanwhile, Downing Street last night insisted the Government was “categorically” not considering excluding foreign students from immigration figures, in what was seen as a slapdown to Chancellor Philip Hammond.
Mr Hammond pressed Downing Street a year ago for a change in how net migration is calculated and suggested this week that discussions continued in government.
Supporters of change say it is wrong to count students among immigrants whose numbers need to be reduced, because they bring skills and cash to the UK economy.
A spokesman said: “The Government objective is to reduce annual net migration to the tens of thousands and in order to deliver this we are keeping all visa routes under review. Our position on who is included in the figures has not changed and we are categorically not reviewing whether or not students are included.”