BERLIN’S BOOST FOR BREXIT

Leaked document reveals that Germany wants ‘close partnership’ with Britain

GERMANY is seeking a ‘comprehensive free trade accord’ with the UK after Brexit, a leaked document revealed last night.

Berlin is playing hardball in public, insisting it is not interested in such a deal unless the UK offers written guarantees it will make a ‘divorce payment’ of up to £90 billion.

But a draft paper by the German foreign ministry suggests Berlin is privately anxious to secure a ‘comprehensive’ trade deal with one of its largest trading partners.

The four-page document states: ‘We share the UK’s desire to secure a close partnership with the EU after its exit that covers economic and trade relations.’

The foreign ministry said that Germany also wants ‘ at a minimum’ a deal that covers co-operation on defence, security, transport, crime fighting, agriculture and fisheries and digital issues.

The revelation came as Theresa May prepared to travel to Brussels today for crunch talks with EU leaders on the state of the Brexit negotiations.

Government sources last night described the document as ‘encouraging’, saying it confirms that Mrs May’s Florence speech has created ‘momentum’ in the talks.

And a senior EU diplomat said various member states were engaged in similar exercises to sketch out their visions of a free trade deal with the UK.

The documents – which are being treated as important markers by countries with close trading links to the UK – will be circulated in Brussels during closed-door talks in coming months. The official said drafting the plans was an ‘ important step’ in shaping a future trade deal.

Senior Tories said the revelations from Berlin showed the wisdom of refusing to offer more cash. Thus far Britain has offered a divorce payment of £20billion.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin said: ‘This does demonstrate that our willingness to walk away without a deal is having an effect.

‘ The advantage lies with us because a country like Germany sells far more to us than we do to them. Maybe they are coming round to that realisation at last.’

Fellow Tory John Redwood added: ‘I have always thought Germany would want to do a trade deal with us because it is massively in their interests.

‘But they also want to squeeze as much money out of us as they can, and we have to stand firm.’

During discussions at the summit of the European Council in Brussels tonight, Mrs May will urge EU leaders to move on to trade talks with Britain.

Her presentation has been shoehorned into a discussion on ‘foreign relations’, which is likely to focus on the threat posed by North Korea and Iran.

Privately, British ministers believe there is little prospect of the EU accepting that divorce talks have made ‘ sufficient progress’ to move on to trade. But they are increasingly optimistic that trade talks will begin by the end of the year. If that fails, preparations for a ‘no- deal’ Brexit are likely to intensify on both sides of the Channel.

A Government official last night said the PM was ‘hugely confident of getting a deal’ in the end. Despite the ongoing stalemate over the Brexit bill, Brussels sources last night said Mrs May has used a flurry of talks with EU leaders to guarantee the UK will pay its share of the bloc’s debt.

While ministers have refused to reveal how much it is willing to pay, the Prime Minister is understood to have made precise commitments to leaders such as Ger- man chancellor Angela Merkel. The German draft paper will come as a welcome development to ministers after they again delayed the next stage of the EU Withdrawal Bill because of concerns about attempts by diehard Remainers in Parliament to sabotage it.

Labour also confirmed yesterday that Jeremy Corbyn will also travel to Brussels today for talks with EU negotiator Michel Barnier, despite Tory warnings his stance amounted to ‘capitulation, not negotiation’.

It came as an EU commissioner launched an astonishing attack on the UK in which he said the Government was trying to ‘ bully’ its way towards a deal.

In a rare departure from the EU’s more diplomatic public statements, Irish agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan said the UK was ‘so close to the cliff edge of a hard Brexit that we can see the drop almost in front of us’.

‘The hardliners cannot get it out of their heads the idea that if they bully their way towards the wire, the union’s nerve will crack,’ he said.

Last night European Council chief Donald Tusk echoed calls for Mrs May to put more ‘concrete’ proposals on the negotiating table. He said there had been ‘promising progress’ but it was ‘not sufficient’ – and he did not expect ‘any kind of breakthrough’ during today’s summit. Comment – Page 18

‘Massively in their interests’