Angry Merkel slaps down Juncker for inflaming Brexit talks
After claim British PM is ‘in another galaxy’...
A RIFT emerged between Angela Merkel and JeanClaude Juncker last night after she reportedly accused him of ‘inflaming’ Brexit talks by leaking details of his row with Theresa May.
The German Chancellor’s relations with the EU Commission president are said to have ‘soured’ after Mr Juncker described Mrs May as living in ‘another galaxy’ following a recent dinner.
According to German newspaper Der Spiegel, which has close links with Mrs Merkel’s government, she believes the leaking of private conversations, blamed on Mr Juncker, ‘is not helpful in heating up the mood in this way’. The Der Spiegel article, headlined: ‘Merkel angered by Juncker at Brexit dinner’, said it had made her mood ‘sour’ towards him.
Mr Juncker’s ‘another galaxy’ comment was made in a telephone call with Mrs Merkel after he clashed with Mrs May over dinner in Downing Street 11 days ago.
He reportedly told Mrs Merkel: ‘It went very badly. She is in a different galaxy.’
The leak was blamed on Mr Juncker or his formidable German chief of staff, Martin Selmayr.
In remarks clearly aimed at Mr Juncker, a furious Mrs May responded to the leaks last week by accusing ‘the bureaucrats of Brussels’ of trying to influence the General Election.
The Der Spiegel article echoed public comments made by Mrs Merkel on Friday in which she struck a markedly more conciliatory tone towards Mrs May.
She stressed that she would approach Brexit negotiations ‘fairly and constructively’. Mrs Merkel denied she aimed to cause trouble in the Brexit talks and said she wanted ‘clarity and security as quickly as possible’ for EU residents in Britain, including about 100,000 Germans.
The EU must also ‘limit the damage that Britain’s withdrawal could bring for the European Union as a whole if [Britain’s] withdrawal and transition did not succeed’.
Another influential German newspaper, Die Welt, said yesterday that following Mr Juncker’s attacks, Mrs May’s Government had privately sought reassurances from Mrs Merkel that she did not side with Mr Juncker in wanting Brexit to ‘be a disaster for Britain’.
It said some members of Mrs May’s Government ‘fear that Merkel and Juncker want Brexit to be a disaster for Britain for educational reasons’: to warn off other countries thinking of leaving the EU.
Die Welt said: ‘Germany is not yet a theatre of war. Discreet UK inquiries were made in Berlin last week asking: “Whose side are you on?”.’