Merkel fury at Brussels over ‘leaks’
A FURIOUS rift has opened up between Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker over his tactics in the Brexit negotiations.
The German chancellor was yesterday reported to be irritated with the European Commission president after his aides briefed newspapers about a private dinner with Theresa May in Downing Street.
Relations between Berlin and Brussels have been “soured” by the spat, according to diplomats. The falling out is understood to be further undermining the attempt by EU leaders to present a united front in the Brexit talks. Details of the rift were revealed in the German newspaper Der Spiegel, which has close links with Chancellor Merkel’s government. She was said to believe that the leaking of a private conversation was “not helpful in heating up the mood in this way”.
Mr Juncker and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier met Mrs May and Tory EU Exit Secretary David Davis over dinner in Downing Street last month to kick off the Brexit negotiations.
After the meeting, both Number 10 and the European Commission said the talks had been “constructive”. But days later an account emerged claiming the two sides had clashed and that the meeting broke up after 90 minutes of failure to make any progress. The briefing has been blamed on Martin Selmayr, the commission president’s chief of staff.
On the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that some EU leaders wanted Brexit to be a flop for the UK and accused EU Commission insiders of attempting to “interfere and rig” the General Election.
“They are trying to leak reports that undermine Theresa May’s position,” Mr Hunt said.