Don't rip Britain apart, May appeals to fellow EU leaders on Brexit

[webfact]

Don't rip Britain apart, May appeals to fellow EU leaders on Brexit

By Elizabeth Piper and Gabriela Baczynska

 

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May talks to the media as she arrives for the informal meeting of European Union leaders ahead of the EU summit, in Salzburg, Austria, September 19, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

 

SALZBURG, Austria (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May appealed directly to fellow European leaders on Wednesday to drop "unacceptable" Brexit demands that she said could rip Britain apart, and urged the bloc to respond in kind to her "serious and workable" plan.

 

Over Wiener schnitzel in Salzburg, May tried to win over the leaders of the European Union by effectively asking them what they would do if they were asked to agree a "legal separation" of their countries -- something she says the EU is asking for by insisting Northern Ireland might stay under EU economic rules.

 

It may be a high-risk strategy. EU officials again said Britain had to move its own position over what has become known as the Irish backstop - how to avoid erecting border posts between the British province and EU member Ireland - as well as on future economic cooperation after Brexit day in March.

 

A government source suggested Britain would come up with other proposals to try to reach agreement on Northern Ireland "in due course", but May has so far been reluctant to move from her Chequers plan, hashed out at her country home in July.

 

With just over six months to Brexit day, both sides agree on one point - that time is running out to secure a deal that will mark Britain's biggest policy shift in almost half a century.

 

"I believe that I have put forward serious and workable proposals. We will of course not agree on every detail, but I hope that you will respond in kind," she told the other leaders at the Felsenreitschule theatre -- known to film fans for a scene in the musical 'The Sound of Music'.

 

"The onus is now on all of us to get this deal done," she said, according to the senior British government source.

 

BORDER PLAN "NOT CREDIBLE"

The talks, which have gone on for over a year, are bogged down in how to ensure that what will become Britain's only land border with the EU, between Northern Ireland and Ireland, will not become home again to the checks and tensions of the past.

 

May has rejected an EU proposal to keep the province in a customs union with the bloc if they fail to reach a deal to keep the entire EU-UK border open, instead offering a time-limited customs arrangement that would cover the whole of Britain.

 

Over dinner, she said the problem could be solved by securing the type of "frictionless trade" envisaged in her Chequers plan, and that Britain was still committed to agreeing a fall-back scheme with the EU.

 

"However, the Commission's proposal for this protocol - that I should assent to a legal separation of the United Kingdom into two customs territories - is not credible," she said.

 

May has shown little sign of moving away from her Brexit plan, shrugging off criticism not only from Brussels but also at home over her proposals for future trade relations and Northern Ireland.

 

She may have little option. Facing the annual Conservative Party conference later this month, she is keen to show hardline Brexiters who have called on her to "chuck Chequers" that her plan is the only one that can be negotiated with the EU.

 

And, possibly for that audience, she told the EU leaders that although time was short, "delaying or extending these negotiations is not an option" and rule out the option of a second referendum on Britain's EU membership.

 

EU officials are minded not to paint May into a corner, aware of the increasing opposition to her plans in her Conservative Party, and that she needs a victory of sorts to persuade a reluctant parliament to back a deal.

 

But while they were keen to emphasise the positive movement seen in the Chequers plan, some said no deal could be reached until there was movement from Britain on Northern Ireland.

 

"NO PROGRESS"

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters there had been no advance on the issue: "I don't think we're any closer to a withdrawal agreement than we were in March, so I can't report any progress, unfortunately."

 

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said a deal with Britain was still "far away".

 

According to an EU official, chief negotiator Michel Barnier has suggested going to the "bare bones" on any checks between the rest of Britain and Northern Ireland, which could be further reduced if there is a trade facilitation agreement similar to that with Japan.

 

The government source said Britain had yet to receive a formal proposal.

 

But he did say London would offer proposals for regulatory aspects of the backstop to try to move the talks forward. He did not say when. EU negotiators say the problem is not only about customs but also ensuring the goods coming into the EU are produced according to EU rules, which Britain wants to shed.

 

May expects little immediate feedback at the dinner.

 

She will attend a morning session on Thursday to discuss security, where she will raise the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury. She will also have a face-to-face meeting with Varadkar.

 

She will then be out of the room when the other 27 leaders discuss her Brexit proposals over lunch, and will find out about their reactions only when Tusk briefs her separately afterwards.

 

But the senior British source said Britain believed momentum was growing for a deal, noting Tusk's plan to convene a special summit in mid-November to ink a hoped-for treaty.

 

"I think this signals that very serious discussions are now taking place," the source said. "We are confident of getting a deal."

 

(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald, Francois Murphy Andreas Rinke, Jean-Baptiste Vey, Jan Strupczewski in Brussels, and William James in London; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-20

[Lungstib]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Don't rip Britain apart,

"Leave that to me and my government"

[Chomper Higgot]

The PM and head of the Conservative and Unionist Party is now reduced to begging.

 

And to think the whole idea of the Brexit referendum was to try to stop the Tories ripping their party apart.

 

 

[pegman]

Looks like she's at the knee pads stage.

[Guest]

"EU needs UK more than UK needs EU" - the many times we heard that over the last year.

 

UK has been behaving like "Strong and independent woman", who in reality is nothing like real strong and independent woman. Instead she is internally confused of her identity. What she is and what she wants.

 

Now that UK has her freedom, it's time to act like real strong and independent woman. Freedom and independence comes with integrity and responsibility which she has to carry on her shoulders. 

 

Good luck UK, whatever you decide to do and to become. 

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

I suspect the Ulster Unionists are now questioning their (paid for with tax payer’s money) support for this government.

[arithai12]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

after Brexit day in March.

sadly, I think the only thing both sides will agree on is a postponement.

[tomacht8]

Beautiful schizophrenics.
Brexiteers complain that the borders in the south are too open and too many economic refugees infiltrate the EU unchecked.
They are right.
The eu needs strong external borders. Now the EU also needs strong external borders in the north. But that is not good now.

[puipuitom]

It is oe of the two: OR an external EU border which includes Northern Ireland to the Irish Republik, so NO border between these two OR.. a border inbetween.

But THIS every Brit could have known when they voted during that referendum.

[gamini]

5 hours ago, oilinki said:

"EU needs UK more than UK needs EU" - the many times we heard that over the last year.

 

UK has been behaving like "Strong and independent woman", who in reality is nothing like real strong and independent woman. Instead she is internally confused of her identity. What she is and what she wants.

 

Now that UK has her freedom, it's time to act like real strong and independent woman. Freedom and independence comes with integrity and responsibility which she has to carry on her shoulders. 

 

Good luck UK, whatever you decide to do and to become. 

 

 

8

"EU needs UK more than UK needs EU" is the most stupid remark ever made. It's the other way around

[SheungWan]

5 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I suspect the Ulster Unionists are now questioning their (paid for with tax payer’s money) support for this government.

The UU are exactly where they want to be, more likely.

[Guest]

News are coming in on twitter. 

 

#BREAKING EU Council President Tusk: May's Brexit trade plan 'will not work'

#BREAKING May's Brexit proposals 'not acceptable': France's Macron

[billd766]

1 hour ago, oilinki said:

News are coming in on twitter. 

 

#BREAKING EU Council President Tusk: May's Brexit trade plan 'will not work'

#BREAKING May's Brexit proposals 'not acceptable': France's Macron

 

So simply let the UK go its own way. It is obviously no loss to the EU.

 

 

Or is it?

[baboon]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

So simply let the UK go its own way. It is obviously no loss to the EU.

 

 

Or is it?

Brinkmanship is what I am guessing. However I would far rather be on the EU's side of the fence...

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

So simply let the UK go its own way. It is obviously no loss to the EU.

 

Or is it?

It's UK who decides and bears the responsibility of its decision. 

 

There will be losses on both sides, naturally. 

[bristolboy]

9 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

So simply let the UK go its own way. It is obviously no loss to the EU.

 

 

Or is it?

The EU has always said that Brexit would be bad for both sides. They're not the ones living in denial. They don't maintain that Brexit will in the long run open new opportunities that will more than counterbalance the deficits created by Brexit.

[Mansell]

Unfortunately this PM is the wrong person to be negotiating the Brexit deal....in my opinion she is a very weak negotiater. We need somebody with big balls that would tell the EU to go F€£#K themselves and we will not pay the billions owed or anything else. For those of you alive before we moved into the EU we had good trade deals with Oz and NZ, and our relationship with Europe was pretty good. The original nice idea about the EU was that all those countries 30 years before were all fighting each other.......the EU ended all that possibility of it happening again.

Joining the EU originally pushed up prices in the UK, and that is never going to return to those days. Personally I think Brexit should be voted on by young and middle aged people who have a long term invested interest in Britain and the EU. Not a bunch of old people including me who want to return to a time long gone.....you cannot put the genii back in the bottle.

Right now this whole thing is a disaster with a pretty bleak future for at least a decade before we bounce back from the confusion that has been created by Brexit and the lies propagated to manipulate the old and vulnerable.

[billd766]

13 hours ago, baboon said:

Brinkmanship is what I am guessing. However I would far rather be on the EU's side of the fence...

And then we have today's snippet from the BBC.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45596470

[billd766]

2 hours ago, Mansell said:

Unfortunately this PM is the wrong person to be negotiating the Brexit deal....in my opinion she is a very weak negotiater. We need somebody with big balls that would tell the EU to go F€£#K themselves and we will not pay the billions owed or anything else. For those of you alive before we moved into the EU we had good trade deals with Oz and NZ, and our relationship with Europe was pretty good. The original nice idea about the EU was that all those countries 30 years before were all fighting each other.......the EU ended all that possibility of it happening again.

Joining the EU originally pushed up prices in the UK, and that is never going to return to those days. Personally I think Brexit should be voted on by young and middle aged people who have a long term invested interest in Britain and the EU. Not a bunch of old people including me who want to return to a time long gone.....you cannot put the genii back in the bottle.

Right now this whole thing is a disaster with a pretty bleak future for at least a decade before we bounce back from the confusion that has been created by Brexit and the lies propagated to manipulate the old and vulnerable.

 

IMHO it will not be too good but it will not be for as long as a decade but perhaps 4 or 5 years. I hope that it will be less.

 

What will happen in and with the EU during the same period I have no idea, but IMHO it will have to change radically if it is to survive the way the top people want it to..

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

And then we have today's snippet from the BBC.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45596470

In EU side the news report that EU has created and offered various deals for UK, but UK has not been interested as the internal problems in UK prevents any coherent negotiations.

 

Smells like no-deal situation to me. Nobody wishes to play brinkmanship games at this point, when time is running out and there is plenty to do, if both parties wish to end up with a decent deal. 

 

[billd766]

Just now, oilinki said:

In EU side the news report that EU has created and offered various deals for UK, but UK has not been interested as the internal problems in UK prevents any coherent negotiations.

 

Smells like no-deal situation to me. Nobody wishes to play brinkmanship games at this point, when time is running out and there is plenty to do, if both parties wish to end up with a decent deal. 

 

 

 Now sitting on the Leave side as I do I would say the complete opposite about the deals. I do agree with you about the way it has been run from the UK side.

[Kadilo]

3 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

 Now sitting on the Leave side as I do I would say the complete opposite about the deals. I do agree with you about the way it has been run from the UK side.

It’s an impossible position from the UK side. May can not budge or the already plastic Chequers deal will get voted down, and the EU won’t budge cos they hold all the cards. 

It’s been a proper <deleted> up by May and all her hangers on from the go. 

[melvinmelvin]

16 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

It’s an impossible position from the UK side. May can not budge or the already plastic Chequers deal will get voted down, and the EU won’t budge cos they hold all the cards. 

It’s been a proper <deleted> up by May and all her hangers on from the go. 

 

that may be so, but really nothing to complain about;

 

firstly, the Parliament, since late last year, continues to OK her doings

 

secondly, the UK voters gave her a mandate last GE

 

so now it is time to enjoy the mess that you have made

 

 

 

[stevenl]

35 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

It’s an impossible position from the UK side. May can not budge or the already plastic Chequers deal will get voted down, and the EU won’t budge cos they hold all the cards. 

It’s been a proper <deleted> up by May and all her hangers on from the go. 

Don't think you can blame May, she had nothing to negotiate with from the beginning.

 

Which is also the reason nobody else in her party wants to take over, no glory to be had here.

Edited September 21, 2018 by stevenl

[dick dasterdly]

23 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

 Now sitting on the Leave side as I do I would say the complete opposite about the deals. I do agree with you about the way it has been run from the UK side.

The vast majority of UK politicians prefer to remain, but most constituencies voted to leave - a dilemma for those MPs (in leave constituencies) - who are very aware that they could lose their seats if they continue to support remain in an obvious manner....

 

MPs in constituencies that voted remain are also in a difficult situation (although obviously, far less difficult), as clearly obstructing a referendum result that the voters were told was 'their decision' - makes it clear that MPs have no respect whatsoever for the electorate.

 

Hence the in-fighting and ridiculous negotiating position (taken from the start) after the referendum......

 

In short (and IMO), they're looking for a way to 'sell' 'leave in name only' to the electorate.

 

I sincerely hope that the headline of this OP "Don't rip britain apart may appeals to fellow eu leaders" is a journalist's 'interpretation' of what she actually said - otherwise it's very clear that she is doing everything in her power to support project fear.

 

 

[melvinmelvin]

10 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

The vast majority of UK politicians prefer to remain, but most constituencies voted to leave - a dilemma for those MPs (in leave constituencies) - who are very aware that they could lose their seats if they continue to support remain in an obvious manner....

 

MPs in constituencies that voted remain are also in a difficult situation (although obviously, far less difficult), as clearly obstructing a referendum result that the voters were told was 'their decision' - makes it clear that MPs have no respect whatsoever for the electorate.

 

Hence the in-fighting and ridiculous negotiating position (taken from the start) after the referendum......

 

In short (and IMO), they're looking for a way to 'sell' 'leave in name only' to the electorate.

 

I sincerely hope that the headline of this OP "Don't rip britain apart may appeals to fellow eu leaders" is a journalist's 'interpretation' of what she actually said - otherwise it's very clear that she is doing everything in her power to support project fear.

 

 

 

I have seen the same kind of May speak in several other languages since Wed night.

 

[SheungWan]

The code for May's message is for the EU to give her some meat to feed the hyenas on the Hard Brexit side. Some twaddle for them as most of the actual negotiation has been and still is internal to the UK side The EU should break its rules for the sake of the UK leaving? Is not quite going to happen so the odds are on a fudge to be sorted out during the transition period. Leave it as late as possible and head off the circling vultures. The markets are still expecting a deal and that means Sterling is holding up. Next test is May making through the Tory Party Conference. If that happens, a deal is on. Probably/Maybe.