May rejects Brussels’ demands
EU puts tough terms for Brexit on the table with hard line on trade and Britain’s divorce bill
THERESA MAY yesterday dismissed a series of hardline Brexit demands from Brussels as politicians on both sides of the Channel warned that the talks could turn nasty.
The Prime Minister said requests formally agreed by EU leaders were simply a negotiating position. Mrs May insisted she was sticking to her own demands outlined in a speech earlier this year which included tariff-free trade, ending the jurisdiction of European courts and stopping free movement of migrants.
When asked about mounting fears the UK could be “bullied by Brussels” she claimed that voters re-electing her was the best way to secure a good deal.
Yesterday the EU’s 27 countries formally agreed guidelines for the Brexit talks in what amounted to the bloc’s opening hand for the discussions.
It includes Britain paying a “Brexit bill” of around £50billion before a future trade deal is discussed. Brussels leaders also indicated no early deal on EU citizens’ rights would be agreed unless the Prime Minister accepted that the European Court of Justice [ECJ] would decide disputes.
They also mocked as “pure illusion” the idea that Britain could sow divisions among the 27 member states to secure a better agreement.
The Prime Minister was questioned by The Sunday Telegraph during a campaign stop in Scotland.
She was asked: “The Brexit deal that appears to be on offer from Brussels at the moment looks pretty bad. Will you allow yourself to be bullied by Brussels?” She responded: “First of all I would point out we don’t have a Brexit deal on the table from Brussels.
“We have their negotiating guidelines, we have our negotiating guidelines through the Article 50 letter and the Lancaster House speech I gave on this issue in January.”
The speech in question listed her Brexit priorities which included “control of immigration” by ending free movement and “control of our own laws” by ending the jurisdiction of the ECJ.
She went on: “What matters sitting around that table is a strong Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a strong mandate from the people of the United Kingdom which will strengthen our negotiating hand to ensure we get that possible deal.”
A senior Tory source said that the Prime Minister would “protect Britain’s interests” at the negotiating table if re-elected but insisted the tone with Brussels would be “consensual”.
David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, said: “Both sides are clear – we want these negotiations to be conducted
in the spirit of goodwill, sincere cooperation and with the aim of establishing a close partnership between the UK and the EU going forward.
“But there is no doubt that these negotiations are the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes. They will be tough and, at times, even confrontational.”
The comments followed a show of unity from the 27 EU member states as they agreed Brexit priorities in just four minutes in Brussels.
The EU’s demands have strengthened since Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, first issued his draft guidelines on March 31, with member states adding requests on financial liabilities and citizens’ rights.
Among the hardest demands for Mrs May is a £50billion Brexit bill to cover EU spending up until 2020 when the current budget runs out, and a full list of rights for EU citizens living in the UK –to be arbitrated by the European Court of Justice. If the demands were agreed in full, officials concede it would create a situation where EU nationals in the UK have more rights – say on appealing against immigration decisions on third country spouses – than are enjoyed by British citizens.
Only when Britain is deemed to have made “sufficient progress” on these key areas, however, will the EU side agree to unlock the door to a future trade deal, although the EU side has refused to specify what “sufficient progress” means.
Mr Tusk asked for a “serious British response” on what will happen to the three million EU citizens currently in the UK after Brexit. He added: “We need real guarantees for our people to live, work and study in the UK.”
Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, made his own warnings about the negotiations.
He spelled out that Europe wants a detailed and legally watertight guarantee for EU citizens in the UK after Brexit, and would not settle for blanket political assurances from the UK side.
He added: “The negotiations will be difficult and it will even be difficult to retain the unity we were able to construct today.”
Mr Juncker also hinted at his frustrations with Mrs May at last week’s dinner in Downing Street, where he claimed the Prime Minister had told him to “be patient”.
In a moment of lightheartedness Mr Juncker said it had been an “excellent” dinner – before adding to the sounds of Continental laughter “and I’m not talking about the food”.
‘There is no doubt that these negotiations are the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes’