Merkel ally says Brexit talks can’t move on
and unnecessary” and “positively harmful to the national interest”.
Labour Party Brexit spokesman Paul Blomfield said fixing a day in law was “a gimmick” by “a prime minister so weak she is trying to tie her own hands behind her back”.
Pro-brexit Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin prompted an angry response by telling colleagues: “Any MPS who voted for Article 50 but then do not want to fix the date are open to the charge that they don’t want us to leave the European Union.”
Fellow Tory Anna Soubry could be heard saying: “You disgrace, Bernard. You’re a disgrace.”
Government whips face a battle to push the legislation through the Commons after failing to appease pro-eu rebels with plans to put the Brexit deal agreed in Brussels forward in a separate piece of legislation. At a heated meeting on Monday, MPS rejected the offer, saying it gave them a “take it or leave it” decision between the government’s Brexit deal or no deal at all.
0 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she and Theresa May inched A senior ally of German chancellor Angela Merkel has warned Theresa May that Brexit trade talks will not be given the green light next month.
Ahead of a meeting with the Prime Minister on today, German MEP Manfred Weber said it “doesn’t look like” the December summit of European leaders will agree to move on to the next phase of the negotiations.
EU leaders have demanded ‘sufficient progress’ is made on a Brexit financial settlement, citizens’ rights and the Irish border before trade talks can begin.
Mr Weber, president of the centre-right EPP group in the European Parliament, said “the clock is ticking” and the UK had to put forward further proposals.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit representative, Guy Verhofstadt, warned that the UK’S offer on citizens’ rights does not go far enough.
In a letter to Mr Davis, obtained by the Associated Press, the Belgian MEP said that “under your proposals EU citizens will definitely notice a deterioration of their status as a result of Brexit”.