British prime minister accuses EU officials of interference

Brussels — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday accused European Union officials of trying to influence the U.K. elections, ratcheting up tensions with Brussels over her country’s departure from the bloc.

Just hours after the EU unveiled its plan for Brexit talks, which delays discussion on issues like trade that are so dear to Britain, May said that “the European Commission’s negotiating stance has hardened. Threats against Britain have been issued by European politicians and officials.”

“All of these acts have been deliberately timed to affect the result of the general election that will take place on 8 June,” she told reporters outside 10 Downing St., in a speech aimed at rallying support for her Conservative Party ahead of next month’s polls.

May’s comments follow leaked comments in the British and European media suggesting the EU thinks Britain is not facing reality about the conditions of its EU exit and the complexity of the negotiations ahead.

“The events of the last few days have shown that — whatever our wishes, and however reasonable the positions of Europe’s other leaders — there are some in Brussels who do not want these talks to succeed,” she said.

The head of the EU’s executive Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, expressed regret that details of his private dinner with May last week had made the news.

A German news report said that Juncker left the meeting saying he was “10 times more skeptical than I was before” that negotiations will succeed. May dismissed the report as “Brussels gossip.”

May also vowed Tuesday to be a “bloody difficult woman” in Brexit talks.

Juncker said: “I have noted that she is a tough lady.”

Earlier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, insisted that Britain’s accounts must be settled before any talks on its future trade relationship with the EU can take place, as he warned that time is running out to seal a deal by 2019.

Unveiling the Commission’s negotiating mandate for Britain’s departure, Barnier said he was not hostile to Britain and the bloc did not want to punish it for leaving — but “we have to settle the account, not more not less.”

The amount London owes the EU has become one of the most contentious subjects in the Brexit process, with some reports estimating it could climb to as much as 100 billion euros ($109 billion) — a figure that Britain has flatly rejected paying.