The Daily Telegraph

May’s ‘generous’ offer gets nothing but a ‘must try harder’ response

- By Peter Foster EUROPE EDITOR in Brussels

IT WAS intended as a big bang moment when Theresa May went to Brussels to reset the troubled Brexit negotiatio­ns by unveiling the UK’S “generous offer” towards the three million EU citizens who live and work in Britain.

But to judge by the downcast look on the Prime Minister’s face as she departed a late-night dinner of EU leaders, the big bang in Brussels had turned into something of a damp squib.

As the 27 other leaders toyed with their dessert of macerated cherries and almond ice-cream, Mrs May outlined her offer to allow all three million EU citizens to remain in the UK with the same rights and welfare benefits as British people, but those rights would be enshrined in UK law.

For the first time, Mrs May had directly and personally confronted the EU’S own red line that Britain’s withdrawal agreement must be policed by the European Court of Justice – a position that UK negotiator­s say no sovereign country could ever accept.

There was polite tension in the room. Before the event, Donald Tusk had said that EU leaders would not even engage with Mrs May, out of respect for the sanctity of the official negotiatio­ns, but an EU diplomatic source told The Daily Telegraph that several member states did tackle the Prime Minister.

“They asked how you could guarantee the rights of EU citizens, founded in EU law, without allowing the jurisdicti­on of the ECJ,” the source said. “But Mrs May was very clear. She just said there was ‘no way’ this would happen.”

Mrs May left the remaining 27 leaders to digest the broad outlines of the British offer, although she declined

‘It was a bit like having your elderly aunt over for dinner; after she’d gone everyone complained about her’

to provide more of the details that will be released on Monday to Parliament, to the frustratio­n of some leaders.

“The tone was cordial when Mrs May was in there,” the source added, “but it was a bit like having your elderly aunt over for dinner; after she’d been sent off to bed everyone sat around complainin­g about her.”

The chief complaint was that Mrs May had crow-barred Brexit onto the agenda of the EU leaders’ quarterly summit against the will of many leaders, and then only delivered a vague outline of the UK plan, which raised nearly as many questions as it answered.

In public, EU leaders gave the UK offer a tepid welcome yesterday – which was better than some British officials had feared, given that the UK offer was always going to fall short of the EU’S expansive demands.

Not only does Europe want the UK Supreme Court to be subordinat­ed to the ECJ after Brexit, but it also wants the UK to offer a raft of permanent rights for EU citizens who once resided in Britain, but no longer do.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said the British proposal was a “good beginning but – and I’m trying to word this very carefully – it was not a breakthrou­gh”.

Jean-claude Juncker, the European Commission president, welcomed Mrs May’s presentati­on as a necessary “first step” but added that it would be “inconceiva­ble” that ECJ would not play a role in overseeing the rights of EU citizens.

And therein, said a second EU diplomat, might lie the kernel of a resolution to the ECJ impasse, which Europe says is necessary before there can be any talk of trade arrangemen­ts.

“No one wants to say it out loud, because we still have other things to settle,” the source said, “but we have to find a way for the ECJ to have a say, but the obvious thing is for EU judges to preside over the EU side, UK judges over the UK side and there is a forum for them to meet in the middle.”

 ??  ?? European leaders said Theresa May’s offer on migrant rights was ‘insufficie­nt’ and below expectatio­ns’
European leaders said Theresa May’s offer on migrant rights was ‘insufficie­nt’ and below expectatio­ns’
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