European leaders
EU figures put the squeeze on Prime Minister as clock ticks on negotiations which they admit have just become tougher
● European leaders have ramped up the pressure on Theresa May over Brexit, insisting the talks on EU withdrawal must begin as soon as possible.
Mrs May’s failure to secure a majority was described as an “own goal” by Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, who warned that the talks to leave the bloc would now become even more complex.
With Mrs May struggling to cobble together a working majority following a disastrous election, leading figures across the EU turned the screw on the Prime Minister.
The frustration within the EU at the failure to achieve a decisive result was articulated by Mr Verhofstadt, who said: “Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated.”
European Council President Donald Tusk warned Mrs May there was “no time to lose” in the Brexit negotiations.
With talks due to start in Brussels in ten days’ time, Mr Tusk said it was their “urgent task” to get on with the negotiations in “the best possible spirit”.
In a letter to the Prime Minister congratulating her on her reappointment, he said the two-year time frame set out under Article 50 of the EU treaties left no room for delay. Talks are scheduled to begin a week on Monday.
Further pressure came from the German EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who said the deadline for completing negotiations should be tightened.
Mr Oettinger said talks on the UK’S exit from the European Union must actually be finished by October next year, instead of March 2019, to allow the 27 remaining nations to approve the deal.
“Time for Brexit negotiations is getting tight,” said Mr Oettinger.
European Commission president Jean-claude Juncker said he hoped there would be no further delay to the negotiations.
“As far as the commission is concerned, we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half-past nine,” he said.
“I do hope that the result of the election will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for.”
Earlier, however, Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the talks would begin when Britain was ready, suggesting he would consider a short delay.
Germany’s European Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said “a weaker partner weakens the whole thing”, while if both sides were strong “you get results more quickly”.
While German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said he hoped the election result would be seen as a message that the British people do not want a hard Brexit. He urged the government to “reconsider” whether it should withdraw “in this way”..