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'Yet another own goal' – EU points to Brexit breakdown after UK election 'Yet another own goal' – EU braces for Brexit talks delay after UK election
(about 1 hour later)
The EU will force a humiliated Theresa May to explain her intentions in Brussels as senior figures warned that with the clock ticking on Brexit negotiations, the hung parliament following the UK election was an “own goal” and a “disaster” that risked delaying or derailing the talks. The EU will force a humiliated Theresa May to explain her intentions in Brussels as senior figures warned that with the clock ticking on Brexit negotiations, Britain’s hung parliament was an “own goal” and a “disaster” that risked delaying or derailing the talks.
May said Brexit talks would begin on 19 June, as planned, but officials in Brussels were braced for a delay. Sources said a meeting of the European council on 22 June was the EU27’s new deadline for wanting to know the prime minister’s plans in light of the politically disastrous loss of her majority. May said on Friday Brexit talks would begin on 19 June, as planned, but officials in Brussels were braced for a delay. Sources said a meeting of the European council on 22 June was the EU27’s new deadline for wanting to know the prime minister’s plans in light of the politically disastrous loss of her majority.
Donald Tusk, the European council president, reminded London that article 50 of the Lisbon treaty had already been triggered and talks would have to be concluded by March 2019. Donald Tusk, the European council president, reminded London that article 50 of the Lisbon treaty had already been triggered and talks would therefore have to be concluded by March 2019.
“We don’t know when Brexit talks start,” Tusk tweeted on Friday. “We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a ‘no deal’ as result of ‘no negotiations.” “We don’t know when Brexit talks start,” Tusk tweeted on Friday. “We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a ‘no deal’ as result of ‘no negotiations.” In a letter congratulating May on being reappointed , Tusk later warned her there “was no time to lose” in starting the negotiations.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said the “timetable and EU positions are clear” and talks should start “when the UK is ready”. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, also said the “timetable and EU positions are clear” and talks should start “when the UK is ready”, while European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed the bloc stood ready to “open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine”.
The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, confirmed the bloc stood ready to “open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine”. Although he also said he “strongly hoped” there would be no further delay, Juncker appeared in comments to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in Germany to suggest some slippage may be unavoidable . “The dust in the UK now has to settle”, he said.
Thursday’s snap election was of “particular importance”, Juncker said, adding that he sincerely hoped the result would have “no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for ... We are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope we will not experience further delay.” It had been hoped that officials from both sides would hold informal talks next week on logistics before formal talks began during the week starting 19 June. But with a cabinet reshuffle and new Brexit goals likely following the election result, that timetable now seems unrealistic in Brussels.
He appeared, however, to suggest a delay may be unavoidable in comments to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in Germany. “The dust in the UK now has to settle”, he said. Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit representative, described the election result bluntly as “yet another own goal – after Cameron now May”, adding: “I thought surrealism was a Belgian invention.”
It had been hoped that officials from both sides would hold informal talks next week over the logistics of the negotiations before formal talks began during the week starting 19 June.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit representative, described the result bluntly as “yet another own goal – after Cameron now May”, adding: “I thought surrealism was a Belgian invention.”
Verhofstadt said the election outcome would “make already complex negotiations even more complicated. I hope the UK will soon have a stable government to start negotiations. This is not only about the UK, but also about the future of Europe.”Verhofstadt said the election outcome would “make already complex negotiations even more complicated. I hope the UK will soon have a stable government to start negotiations. This is not only about the UK, but also about the future of Europe.”
Günther Oettinger, the German member of the European commission, said the EU needed “a government that can act. With a weak negotiating partner, there’s a danger the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides … I expect more uncertainty.”
His compatriot Manfred Weber, the leader of the powerful conservative EPP group in the European parliament, tweeted that the Brexit clock was now ticking and Britain “needs a government that is ready to negotiate, and fast”.
Most European capitals had believed May would be returned to government with some form of majority, and expected that to lead to at best difficult talks, and at worst a breakdown of the negotiations possibly as early as this summer.
Continental capitals would have preferred the UK government to have a strong majority since it would then feel politically confident enough to make potentially difficult concessions.
A senior diplomat said of Friday morning’s result: “We want a deal. We are professionals, we have a mandate to get a deal, and we want a deal more than anyone. But we don’t even know who we are negotiating with.”A senior diplomat said of Friday morning’s result: “We want a deal. We are professionals, we have a mandate to get a deal, and we want a deal more than anyone. But we don’t even know who we are negotiating with.”
Günther Oettinger, the German member of the European commission, said: “We need a government that can act. With a weak negotiating partner, there’s a danger the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides … I expect more uncertainty.” Andrius Kubilius, a former conservative prime minister of Lithuania who sits on his country’s Brexit committee, warned that the British government’s need to keep an unstable parliamentary alliance together was plainly a threat to progress on talks.
Andrius Kubilius, a former conservative prime minister of Lithuania, who sits on his country’s Brexit committee, said the British government’s need to keep an unstable parliamentary alliance together was plainly a threat to progress on talks.
“I think it will be much messier now and negotiations will be much more difficult”, he said. “That’s an early thought but it depends on the internal decisions of Britain.” Kubilius added: “I think there will be a greater demand for a softer Brexit now and that is to be welcomed.”“I think it will be much messier now and negotiations will be much more difficult”, he said. “That’s an early thought but it depends on the internal decisions of Britain.” Kubilius added: “I think there will be a greater demand for a softer Brexit now and that is to be welcomed.”
Manfred Weber, the leader of the powerful conservative EPP group in the European parliament, tweeted that the Brexit clock was now ticking and Britain “needs a government that is ready to negotiate, and fast”. The EU had until now believed it understood that May wanted to take the UK out of both the single market and the customs union, but early on Friday the Brexit secretary, David Davis, suggested the election result could prompt a rethink.
The EU had, until now, believed it understood that May wanted to take the UK out of both the single market and the customs union, but in the early hours of Friday morning the Brexit secretary, David Davis, suggested the election result could prompt a rethink. Davis said of the Tories’ manifesto pledges on the single market and customs union: “That’s what it [the election] was about, that’s what we put in front of the people, we’ll see tomorrow whether they’ve accepted that or not. That will be their decision.”
Davis said of the Tory’s manifesto pledges on the single market and customs union: “That’s what it [the election] was about, that’s what we put in front of the people, we’ll see tomorrow whether they’ve accepted that or not. That will be their decision.” The French prime minister, Edouard Philippe, was quick to scotch any suggestion that Britain might perform a U-turn and ask to stay in the EU – which would need EU agreement – but said he did expect Brexit negotiations to be “long and complex”.
The French prime minister, Edouard Philippe, was quick to scotch any suggestion that Britain might perform a U-turn and ask to stay in the EU – which would in any case need EU agreement – but he did expect Brexit negotiations to be “long and complex”. But Germany’s European affairs minister, Michael Roth, noted that time was tight. “We should not waste any time,” Roth said. France’s EU commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the timetable for leaving in 2019 was not “optional” but fixed in treaty law.
Germany’s European affairs minister, Michael Roth, said that time was tight until the expiry of a two-year window to reach a negotiated deal: “We should not waste any time,” he said. Gianni Pitella, leader of the socialist group in the European parliament, said British voters had “punished the clear incompetence of Theresa May. She wanted the UK to have a stronger and harder negotiating position, but has the chaos of a hung parliament.”
Pierre Moscovici, the French European commissioner, said the result would affect the negotiations but declined to be drawn on whether the EU executive hoped Britain might ask to stay. He said the timetable for leaving in 2019 was not “optional” but fixed in treaty law. There are already clear bones of contention in the negotiations. The EU has made plain it expects “sufficient progress” to be made on the divorce deal – including the size of the UK’s exit bill, citizens’ rights and the border in Ireland – before it will begin to discuss a future trade deal.
The Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, said on Friday Britain should form a new government quickly, as months have already been lost in its divorce talks with the European Union. Predicting “the row of the summer”, Davis insisted in May that Britain wanted to “see everything packaged up together, and that’s what we’re going to do”. He also said the UK could “walk away” if confronted with the €100bn settlement the EU is said to be considering.
“I only hope that it will not take too long (to form a government) because we have already lost several months,” Sobotka told Czech Television. “But now it will be necessary to wait for who will form a government and what this government will bring to negotiations over Brexit.”
Andrew Duff, a former Liberal Democrat MEP, and visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre thinktank, said the result could lead to the UK seeking to stay within the customs union.
He said: “May won’t be strong enough to get rid of the three Brexiteers now – David Davis, Boris Johnson and Liam Fox. The only concession the pro-EU people might get from the prime minister would be for the UK to stay in the customs union so that we don’t end up like Turkey. And if that happens she would be able to get rid of Liam Fox, because there wouldn’t be any purpose for a trade secretary.”
Gianni Pitella, leader of the socialist group in the European parliament, said: “The British people just punished the clear incompetence of Theresa May. She tried to gamble on the shoulders of the UK and EU citizens. She wanted the UK to have a stronger and harder negotiating position but has the chaos of a hung parliament.”
Most European capitals had believed May would be returned to government with some form of majority, and expected that to lead to at best difficult talks, and at worst a breakdown of the negotiations, possibly as early as this summer.
May last month accused Brussels and the EU27 of “issuing threats” against Britain in an attempt “to affect the result of the election”. In fact, continental capitals would mostly prefer the government to have a strong majority since it would then feel confident enough to make concessions.
The smaller the majority in Westminster, “the more likely it is that the government will run into difficulty with MPs”, a London-based Benelux diplomat said. “The negotiators will be constantly watching their backs. It’s not a recipe for good talks.”
On Thursday night, Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister tweeted: “Could be messy for the United Kingdom in the years ahead. One mess risks following another. Price to be paid for lack of true leadership.”
Sophia in ‘t Veld, the Dutch MEP who set up the European parliament’s taskforce examining the UK’s treatment of EU nationals, tweeted: “Cameron gambled, lost. May gambled, lost. Tory party beginning to look like a casino.
There are several clear bones of contention in the negotiations. The EU has made clear it expects “sufficient progress” to be made on the divorce deal – including the size of the UK’s exit bill, citizens’ rights and the border in Ireland – before it will begin to discuss a future trade deal.
Predicting “the row of the summer”, Davis insisted in May that Britain wanted to “see everything packaged up together, and that’s what we’re going to do”. He has also said the UK could “walk away” if confronted with the €100bn settlement the EU is said to be considering.
The UK government, while promising it would make a “generous offer”, could also be headed for conflict with the EU27 over the rights of the 3.5 million EU nationals who have made their lives in the UK and the 1.2 million Britons settled on the continent.
In detailed position papers published last month, the EU said it expected the European court of justice to have full jurisdiction over any citizens’ rights disputes, and the European commission to be able to monitor UK compliance. Neither stipulation would be acceptable to Brexit hardliners.