Tusk: May’s plan must be reworked
THERESA MAY has been told her Brexit plans need to be “reworked” as time runs out to reach a deal with the European Union.
European Council president Donald Tusk said the Prime Minister’s Chequers blueprint was a “welcome evolution” in the UK’s approach, but major issues remained to be resolved including avoiding a hard border in Ireland and the future trading relationship between Britain and the EU.
Warning that there was “less and less time” to reach a deal before the UK’s March 29, 2019 exit date, Mr Tusk confirmed he would propose an emergency EU Brexit summit in November.
His comments came as the Prime Minister prepared to address her EU counterparts at a meeting in Salzburg, the first such gathering since the Chequers plan was published.
Mrs May will use the meeting to say that now the UK has showed it is willing to “evolve” its position, the EU must also be prepared to show flexibility.
Mr Tusk told reporters in Salzburg: “The Brexit negotiations are entering the decisive phase. Various scenarios are still possible today but I would like to stress that some of Prime Minister May’s proposals from Chequers indicate a positive evolution in the UK’s approach, as well as the will to minimise the negative effects of Brexit.”
Those positive areas included foreign and security policy co-operation, he said.
But in a blow to Mrs May’s approach, he said: “On other issues such as the Irish question or the framework for economic co-operation the UK’s proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated”.
“Today there is perhaps more hope, but there is surely less and less time,” he added, as he confirmed he would propose a midNovember summit.
Efforts to find an acceptable way to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland suffered a further setback as Mrs May’s DUP allies poured cold water on the latest EU offer.
Ahead of the summit in Austria, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he was ready to come forward with a new offer on the Irish border.
In order to “de-dramatise” the main obstacle to a withdrawal deal, Mr Barnier suggested arrangements could be made to conduct the majority of checks on imports and exports away from the border itself.
But the Democratic Unionist Party, which props up Mrs May’s minority administration in Parliament, dismissed Mr Barnier’s proposals as unpalatable, because they would involve a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Mrs May is expected to use the Salzburg summit to hold formal face-to-face talks with Ireland’s Leo Varadkar and Mr Tusk today.
She may talk to other leaders in the margins of the summit in an effort to win backing for a plan which has met fierce resistance from within the ranks of her own Conservative Party.