The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
May rules out delays to Brexit process
Theresa May ruled out any delay to the Brexit process as she told European Union leaders that her Chequers plan was the only credible route to a deal.
The prime minister set out a blueprint to her 27 counterparts over dinner in Salzburg after being told by EU chiefs that significant elements of it would have to be reworked.
However, at the gathering in Austria, Mrs May told them there would be no delay beyond the UK’s March 2019 departure, no second referendum and therefore the onus was on the continent’s leaders to find a solution if they wanted to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
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.
Arriving at the meeting in Salzburg, Mrs May said Chequers was “the only credible and negotiable plan on the table that delivers no hard border in Northern Ireland and also delivers on the vote of the British people”.
She added: “If we are going to achieve a successful conclusion then, just as the UK has evolved its position, the EU will need to evolve its position too.”
Her comments came just hours after Mr Tusk said that on key issues “the UK’s proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated”.
UK Government sources revealed that Mrs May was using the dinner to acknowledge the difficulties and that she had “never pretended Brexit would be easy or simple”.
But she made clear the high stakes of the negotiations over the coming weeks if a deal is to be struck this autumn in time for ratification ahead of March 29, 2019 Brexit day.
A senior UK official said her message to them was “we all recognise that time is short but delaying or extending these negotiations is not an option”.