EU’s pledge to stall Brexit talks over lack of progress
PM dodges question on voting
EU leaders will almost certainly refuse to allow Brexit talks to move forward to the trade issue at a crunch summit meeting next week, Donald Tusk said yesterday.
The president of the European Council signalled that the gathering in Brussels was unlikely to agree that enough progress had been made so far for the negotiations to advance to the next stage.
His remarks were being seen last night as a rejection of Theresa May’s call for more “flexibility and leadership” from Brussels.
And the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier hinted at irritation with the Prime Minister’s stance by insisting: “Brexit is not a game.”
The double response from senior Eurocrats confirmed expectations in Downing Street that the talks are likely to remain stalled at least until the end of the year, raising the possibility of the negotiations collapsing and the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Hope
Mr Tusk yesterday confirmed the EU was currently not preparing for failure in the talks, but might have to start work on that scenario if no progress was made by the end of the year.
In a speech in Brussels, he said: “We hear from London that the UK government is preparing for a ‘no deal’ scenario.
“I would like to say very clearly that the EU is not working on such a scenario.
“We are negotiating in good faith, and we still hope that the so-called ‘sufficient progress’ will be possible by December.
“However, if it turns out that the talks continue at a slow pace, and that sufficient progress hasn’t been reached, then – together with our UK friends – we will have to think about where we are heading.”
In response to Mr Tusk’s THERESA May last night refused to say she would back Brexit if the EU referendum was held now.
In a move likely to anger Tory Brexiteers, the Prime Minister repeatedly sidestepped questions over which camp she would be in.
During an appearance on LBC radio, Mrs May was asked if she had changed her mind about how to vote, she replied: “I don’t answer hypothetical questions. I voted Remain for good reasons at the time but circumstances move on.”
And in a fresh warning to Brussels about the consequences of the Brexit talks collapsing, Mrs May said EU citizens living in Britain could lose access to the NHS and other rights. speech, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “We have been making progress in the talks on issues like citizens’ rights and Northern Ireland and of course we look forward to that progress continuing.”
Mr Barnier’s flash of indignation came when he was quizzed by a TV news team about Mrs May’s suggestion that “the ball is in their court.”
The EU diplomat said: “Brexit is not a game – don’t forget that.”
His remark came yesterday following lunch with Brexit Secretary David Davis in a meeting described by officials as “constructive”.
Relations with the European Commission worsened after Mr Barnier’s team put out a briefing claiming that talks were being held up because the British negotiators are not available today.
Mrs May pointed out that talks are only happening this week because of UK pressure on the EU to get on with the process and insisted that the Commission was wrong in suggesting talks had been scheduled for today.
In confirming that no Brexit talks will take place, she said: “I believe that talks have not been scheduled.
“The fact that talks are taking place at all this week is partly because the UK said we thought they should.”
In Downing Street she held the weekly meeting to discuss progress in the negotiations.
Cabinet ministers remained tight-lipped as they arrived.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson found himself left out in the cold briefly when the door to No 10 remained closed on his initial attempts to enter the building.