It’s your last chance to explain what you want from Brexit, Tusk warns Britain

DONALD TUSK has given Theresa May a “last call” to explain what Britain wants from Brexit as EU officials warned they would “shoot down” UK plans to remain in the single market for goods only.

With only weeks of negotiating time left before the October deadline for a Brexit deal, Mr Tusk, the president of the European Council, said a “great deal of work” lay ahead as “the most difficult tasks are still unresolved”.

He said: “This is the last call to lay the cards on the table.”

EU leaders made no attempt to hide their impatience with Mrs May after a frosty European Council summit in Brussels. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said the summit had sent the message to Britain that the EU “can no longer wait”, and that the Irish border issue – which was originally expected to have been resolved by now – needs to be agreed within the next few weeks, before Brussels empties for the summer holidays.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said there was still “no real solution” for the Irish border.

Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief negotiator, told Mrs May that “huge and serious” differences remain between Britain and Brussels over Brexit and that “time is short”.

He said the Prime Minister must put forward “workable and realistic” proposals when the Government publishes its White Paper on Brexit next month, and offered to meet British officials for emergency talks on Monday.

Mrs May would only say that Brexit talks must “accelerate and intensify” after the White Paper is published.

Next Friday, the Cabinet will meet at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat, to discuss Britain’s plans for the future relationship with Europe before publishing its White Paper the following week. There has been growing speculation that Mrs May will back a soft Brexit at the summit, remaining in a customs union with the EU and staying in “high alignment” with EU rules and regulations for goods. However, senior EU sources said Mr Barnier will “shoot down” any attempt by the UK to remain in the “single market for goods”, where Britain remains aligned on goods but free to diverge on services.

The senior sources say that EU negotiators have warned the UK that a goods-only arrangement would enable British companies to seek unfair competitive advantage and will not be acceptable to Europe.

At Spain’s insistence, the European Council’s document setting out its conclusions after the summit says that among the “important aspects” still to be agreed are the status of Gibraltar.