The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Progress ‘too slow’ for european Parliament
MEPs believe Tory Party infighting is hampering Brexit talks
Infighting within the UK Government is slowing Brexit negotiations, according to the European Parliament as it overwhelmingly passed a resolution on the lack of progress.
The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, welcomed Theresa May’s call for a transitional period, telling MEPs that he had expected it.
He said more progress needs to be made on EU citizen’s rights in the UK, the Irish border and a financial settlement before a trade deal could be discussed and rejected remarks by Ukip and Conservative MEPs that the UK was being held to ransom for choosing to leave.
A debate was held in Strasbourg yesterday, with MEPs from across the Continent calling for more to be done to ensure the UK’s exit is smooth.
Criticism of Mrs May’s handling of Brexit gained almost unanimous cross-party support among UK members.
SNP MEP Alyn Smith compared her premiership to that of a Viking longboat being pushed to sea, while Ukip’s Gerard Bratten said Mrs May “didn’t have a clue”.
Nigel Farage said: “It is time that members of the Conservative Party in Manchester say in public what they have been saying to me in private – Theresa May is a waste of space.”
Conservative MEP Julie Girling hit back at Mr Farage and other far right politicians by saying they were driving the UK over a cliff edge by pushing for no deal.
Mr Barnier said: “We need the support of confidence and unity (from the European Parliament) which the vast majority has shown.
“There are two things that I cannot accept, the words revenge and punishment.”
He continued: “There is no exit bill. “When you choose to leave, you have to settle your account.
“Before future trade deals are discussed, we need confidence and you need to settle the account.”
He added: “I am prepared to speed up negotiations to the greatest extent.
“There is not much time between now and October 2018 and the settlement of the treaty.”
He added that during the transitional period the entire legal structure involved with being a member state of the EU would remain in place for the UK.
MEPs voted by 557 votes to 92, with 29 abstentions, to say negotiations had not made sufficient progress to begin trade talks.
The resolution sets out the European Parliament’s input to the October 20 EU27 summit in Brussels, when government leaders will assess Brexit negotiation progress.
Any withdrawal agreement at the end of the negotiations between the UK and the EU will need the approval of the European Parliament.