"Who are you calling 'nebulous'?" May presses testy EU for Brexit help

By Elizabeth Piper and Gabriela Baczynska

 

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks outside 10 Downing Street after a confidence vote by Conservative Party Members of Parliament (MPs), in London, Britain December 12, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday further assurances on her Brexit deal were possible after European Union leaders told her they would not be renegotiating the treaty and scorned her stilted defence of Britain's departure.

 

But EU leaders showed no sign of budging, saying it is up to May to sort out her problem getting a deal through parliament in the new year, or face the consequences of failure.

 

With the British parliament deadlocked, the ultimate destination of the Brexit project remains unclear, with possible outcomes ranging from a disorderly departure with no deal to another referendum on European Union membership.

 

May, who on Wednesday survived a plot in her party to oust her, rejected EU criticism of "nebulous" demands from a divided British political system and asked EU leaders at a summit in Brussels for political and legal assurances to help her win parliament around to her deal.

 

She welcomed a statement by the other leaders on Thursday, describing the summit's conclusions as having "legal status".

 

EU officials said the declaration of their good intentions not to bind Britain to EU rules forever was just that -- not a tweak to the treaty's so-called "backstop" to avoid a hard land border for Ireland.

 

Leaders were united that May will get no more from them, even at the 11th hour, to improve on a withdrawal treaty they agreed with her in Brussels just three weeks ago, officials insisted.

 

"Further clarification and discussion following the Council's conclusions is, in fact, possible," May said, refusing to be discouraged.

 

"There is work still to do. We will be holding talks in coming days about how to obtain the further assurances that the UK parliament needs in order to be able to approve this deal."

 

HUMILIATION?

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron ruled out reopening last month's agreement, aimed at ensuring a smooth exit on March 29.

 

"We want to be helpful," Merkel said, adding that none in the EU want the disorder that the deal's collapse would mean.

 

Asked if there was more on offer from the EU, summit chair Donald Tusk said there was no question of new negotiations and that he had no mandate for more meetings. He added that he remained at the disposal of the prime minister over Christmas.

 

Tusk went out of his way to counter British media reports of May being "humiliated" on Thursday evening as leaders badgered her for clarity on what she wanted after surviving a bid this week by her own party to oust her.

 

"We have treated the prime minister with much greater empathy and respect than some British MPs, for sure," he told reporters.

 

EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker also played down a tiff caught on camera where May remonstrated with him about his remark that Britain's position on Brexit was "nebulous".

 

May herself said she accepted it had not been personal and Juncker, calling her "a woman of great courage", joked that they had kissed and made up afterward.

 

Key to solving the problem, the head of the European Commission said, was "bringing down the temperature" in the debate.

 

TOUGH AND TOUGHER

 

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, whose country's prosperity could be radically affected by the fate of its large and historically overbearing neighbour, said he too was trying to help, but that Dublin would not let the treaty be weakened.

 

Without a deal, a disruptive customs frontier with Britain's troubled province of Northern Ireland could be a real danger -- among the many unknowns facing Europe over the coming months.

 

As the summit closed, sterling was down around 0.7 percent at $1.2573, set for its biggest weekly drop in seven weeks.

 

After a punishing week, May was asked by a reporter for Britain's generally pro-Conservative Daily Mail which was worse - the malcontents at home or the "euro bullies" in Brussels - and whether she ever wanted to ditch her job and fly off to a remote island.

 

"Negotiations like this are always tough," May said. "There are always difficult times and, as you get close to the very end, then that can get even more difficult because you're absolutely sorting out the last details of something."

 

But May seemed to have failed to convince EU leaders that if they granted what she asked for, she could win over parliament - a case she had set out before dinner on Thursday.

 

"It would be very useful for us ... to know from the United Kingdom what assurances, what guarantees, what explanations they need," Varadkar told reporters.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-12-15

Hazy Maysy

Hard Brexit's the answer..no 39 big ones going into the corrupt eu coffers!!

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

6 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

Hard Brexit's the answer..no 39 big ones going into the corrupt eu coffers!!

And then in a while you will cry and wonder why the UK is where it is. Maybe they save 39 big once by not paying their bills. But they will lose a lot more than that.

May could have told the truth and the hard facts to her MPs since two years. But she avoided that as much as she could. She always tried to say something which the right interprets in one way and the "left" in another way. And obviously she did this on purpose to avoid talking about hard facts.

And now she complains that someone calls it what it is: nebulous...

 

It's like a hotel description where they mention the sea and the mountains. Some people would like to climb the mountains and others would like to swim in the sea. But then you have to admit at some time that the hotel is in the middle of a city. On one side you can see the mountains far away and on the other the sea far away. And then you wonder why all the people had something different in mind and are disappointed. You shouldn't have been so nebulous!

 

And the whole UK has to suffer because of incompetent politicians like her and many others.

One step beyond in the game of madness revote or no deal all that's left????

And then in a while you will cry and wonder why the UK is where it is. Maybe they save 39 big once by not paying their bills. But they will lose a lot more than that.

By not paying their bills?? According to the House of Lords..no bill is due to be paid in event of NO DEAL.
You could also contact the QC..think name is Martin Howe re the " bill ".

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1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And then in a while you will cry and wonder why the UK is where it is. Maybe they save 39 big once by not paying their bills. But they will lose a lot more than that.

Sure, a short period of discomfort, but after that a stronger, more independent, Britain.

"Historically overbearing" Great Britain ... soon to be the rather underbearing Little England.

 

Sad to watch.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And then in a while you will cry and wonder why the UK is where it is

Well, that's just your opinion and I am sure you are not even British.

Many of us already realise the UK will be in a far better position as a sovereign nation. Why the ____ would we want to 'get approval' from JCJ & DT over matters that we know far more about? 

17 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Sure, a short period of discomfort, but after that a stronger, more independent, Britain.

Yeah... and maybe you'll get the whole Empire back...

 

23 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Sure, a short period of discomfort, but after that a stronger, more independent, Britain.

Hear, hear!

8 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

Yeah... and maybe you'll get the whole Empire back...

 

In a sense they never lost it.

What language are you speaking?

9 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

Yeah... and maybe you'll get the whole Empire back...

 

The majority of the countries shown on the map are members of the British Commonwealth and the majority of those still have H.M. The Queen as their head. Just a name change from "Empire" to "Commonwealth", same same but a bit friendlier!

26 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

"Historically overbearing" Great Britain ... soon to be the rather underbearing Little England.

 

Sad to watch.

Preferable to living in a vassal state and having to pay homage to J C Juncker

A fiasco. I must admit I supported Brexit, but I thought it would be leaving the EU for good with no strings. Why were the options not spelled out before the referendum? Why the exclusive focus on economics and nothing about sovereignty and control of our borders. A shame to see the country of one's birth demonstrating total incompetence in the negotiations. 

Leave and pay 'em nowt. Trade under WTO rules....average 3.3% tariff.

Just get out,give them nothing,join the WTO ,job done.

OK things might be tough for a time,BUT we will bounce

back.

regards Worgeordie

20 minutes ago, Spidey said:

The majority of the countries shown on the map are members of the British Commonwealth and the majority of those still have H.M. The Queen as their head. Just a name change from "Empire" to "Commonwealth", same same but a bit friendlier!

Ah yes, and we're all just dying to be able to grovel again. Yes Sir, of course Sir whatever you want Sir.

 

 

8 hours ago, mfd101 said:

"Historically overbearing" Great Britain ... soon to be the rather underbearing Little England.

 

Sad to watch.

Let me guess.....you must be European and follow your country,s leadership as your opinion on important matters is never considered or wanted

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Just get out,give them nothing,join the WTO ,job done.

OK things might be tough for a time,BUT we will bounce

back.

regards Worgeordie

Many other people in the EU would happily follow our route out if they were given the opportunity.....but their "rulers" do not believe in democracy....and their citizens are too weak kneed to do anything about it

 

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

Ah yes, and we're all just dying to be able to grovel again. Yes Sir, of course Sir whatever you want Sir.

 

 

"Your Majesty" or "Ma'am" will suffice tfn.

3 hours ago, malagateddy said:

Hard Brexit's the answer..no 39 big ones going into the corrupt eu coffers!!

We and any that follow should have crashed out like they were evacuating a burning building the week after the vote result was announced. History will show that's where Cameron really cocked up.

One big reason people voted to leave was to bring power back to Parliament.

 

Theresa Mays government has tried every trick in the book to shut Parliament out, the withdraw should never have been about the Tory party or any other party it should have been a cross-party Parliament that negotiated the withdrawal agreement voted on by the whole house at different stages, not any one single self-serving political party who puts its own interests first.

 

Every political party has its own agenda be it Tory, Labour, DUP, SNP, Lib Dem, Green etc.

 

The way things stand It appears to me its either going to be a hard Brexit or another referendum which nobody can really predict the outcome.

1 hour ago, vogie said:

Preferable to living in a vassal state and having to pay homage to J C Juncker

                     JC  Junter ,   soon. 

              

<double tap>

A post containing a derogatory slur comment toward Americans has been removed. 

Well done Mrs May - keep wielding your handbag at those Brussels cronies!

1 hour ago, petermik said:

Let me guess.....you must be European and follow your country,s leadership as your opinion on important matters is never considered or wanted

My guess is Trumpton or republican Oz.

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

May could have told the truth and the hard facts to her MPs since two years. But she avoided that as much as she could. She always tried to say something which the right interprets in one way and the "left" in another way. And obviously she did this on purpose to avoid talking about hard facts.

And now she complains that someone calls it what it is: nebulous...

 

It's like a hotel description where they mention the sea and the mountains. Some people would like to climb the mountains and others would like to swim in the sea. But then you have to admit at some time that the hotel is in the middle of a city. On one side you can see the mountains far away and on the other the sea far away. And then you wonder why all the people had something different in mind and are disappointed. You shouldn't have been so nebulous!

 

And the whole UK has to suffer because of incompetent politicians like her and many others.

thanks, great analogy..... agree May has been and still is playing the "delay" time card to avoid confrontation, the MP want the vote before XMas bu she says before Jan 21, arriving that date she will come up with another delay tactic until March and at the last minute the MP's have no other option than to accept the deal....she's not to bad of tactical player on this sense

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

A fiasco. I must admit I supported Brexit, but I thought it would be leaving the EU for good with no strings. Why were the options not spelled out before the referendum? Why the exclusive focus on economics and nothing about sovereignty and control of our borders. A shame to see the country of one's birth demonstrating total incompetence in the negotiations. 

Leave and pay 'em nowt. Trade under WTO rules....average 3.3% tariff.

you and a lot of others voted without knowing the reality of the vote and the potential  consequences?? smart move