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David Davis: EU is trying to drag out Brexit talks to get more money Cabinet split as Amber Rudd says no-deal Brexit 'unthinkable'
(about 2 hours later)
David Davis has accused the EU of trying to drag out the Brexit talks to try to get more money out of the UK, as he urged other countries to allow negotiations to move on to discussions about trade. A cabinet split has emerged over whether the UK could walk away from the EU without any Brexit deal, as Amber Rudd said it was “unthinkable” but David Davis insisted it must remain an option.
The Brexit secretary said the UK was ready to start discussions on the future relationship, as a deal must be struck before exit day in March 2019. Rudd, the home secretary, appeared to undermine the government’s position that “no deal is better than a bad deal” on Tuesday as she dismissed the idea of not getting an agreement that at the very least covered security.
“It is unthinkable there would be no deal. It is so much in their interest as well as ours … We will make sure there is something between them and us to maintain our security,” Rudd told parliament’s home affairs committee.
An hour earlier, Davis had told the House of Commons that it was necessary to keep the option of “no deal” open. He said the UK was “straining every sinew” to get a deal with the EU, but it was necessary to prepare for all outcomes.
“The maintenance of the option of no deal is both for negotiating reasons and sensible security. Any government doing its job properly will do that,” the Brexit secretary said.
Rudd later insisted she was not contradicting the government position on walking away with no deal, highlighting May’s Florence speech that said the UK’s proposal on security cooperation was unconditional.
“There are no threats either way on security,” she said, denying that there were different messages coming from different members of the cabinet.
It comes after a row within the Conservatives about whether Philip Hammond, the chancellor, is putting enough effort into preparing for the possibility of no deal.
Theresa May has promised Eurosceptic MPs that everything necessary will be done to prepare for leaving the EU without an agreement, while insisting that the government’s preferred plan is to achieve a deal.
In the Commons, Davis insisted a deal was likely to be done despite the stalemate in talks, but also accused the EU of trying to drag out the negotiations to try to get more money out of the UK.
The Brexit secretary said the UK was ready to start discussions on the future trading relationship, as a deal needed to be struck before exit day in March 2019.
But he suggested the EU was deliberately refusing to move on to talk about trade and transition in order to get the UK to concede it will pay more money as part of its financial settlement.But he suggested the EU was deliberately refusing to move on to talk about trade and transition in order to get the UK to concede it will pay more money as part of its financial settlement.
“They are using time pressure to get more money out of us. Bluntly, that is what’s going on. It’s obvious to anybody,” he told MPs.“They are using time pressure to get more money out of us. Bluntly, that is what’s going on. It’s obvious to anybody,” he told MPs.
The UK is lobbying hard for EU leaders to widen the scope of talks when they meet for a summit in Brussels on Friday, as discussions are currently limited to EU citizens, Northern Ireland and the financial settlement. “We must be able to talk about the future. We all must recognise that we are reaching the limits of what we can achieve without consideration of the future relationship.
However, the issue of money appears to be causing the biggest deadlock between the UK and EU, which led Theresa May to make a last-minute trip to Brussels on Monday for dinner with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission. “At the European summit later this week, I hope the leaders of the 27 will recognise the progress made and provide Michel Barnier [the EU chief negotiator] with a mandate to build on the momentum and spirit of cooperation we now have. Doing so will allow us to best achieve our joint objectives and move towards a deal.”
Arriving in Luxembourg on Tuesday for a Brexit meeting with 27 EU ministers, excluding the UK, the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said it “takes two” to speed up Brexit talks. Davis suggested he was confident of some progress on the issue soon, saying: “Let’s just see what the European council comes up with on Friday, shall we?”
Barnier repeated his warning that time was slipping away. “It is very important to understand that time is passing very quickly. The clock is ticking very fast.” The UK is lobbying hard for EU leaders to widen the scope of talks when they meet for a summit in Brussels on Friday in order to achieve a deal within the time limit. Discussions are currently limited to EU citizens, Northern Ireland and the financial settlement.
Asked whether Monday night’s Brussels dinner had changed anything, he implied the talks remained at an impasse. The issue of money appears to be causing the deadlock between the UK and EU, which led Theresa May to make a last-minute trip to Brussels on Monday for dinner with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission.
“I said three weeks ago I am ready to accelerate the rhythm, but to accelerate it takes two. It was a good working dinner and what we told to the prime minister May is just that is very important to maintain this constructive dynamic in the coming two months.” By the time of the summit May will also have spoken individually to the leaders of France, Ireland, Spain and Italy in an attempt to get them on board for moving on to trade talks.
Davis claimed that a large number of EU leaders were keen to give Barnier permission to open up talks to trade and a transition period but some were holding out. However, Barnier suggested the talks remained at an impasse as he arrived in Luxembourg on Tuesday for a Brexit meeting with 27 EU ministers.
“We must be able to talk about the future. We all must recognise that we are reaching the limits of what we can achieve without consideration of the future relationship,” he told MPs. “At the European summit later this week, I hope the leaders of the 27 will recognise the progress made and provide Michel Barnier with a mandate to build on the momentum and spirit of cooperation we now have. Doing so will allow us to best achieve our joint objectives and move towards a deal.” Asked whether Monday night’s Brussels dinner had changed anything, he said: “I said three weeks ago I am ready to accelerate the rhythm, but to accelerate it takes two. It was a good working dinner and what we told to the prime minister May is just that is very important to maintain this constructive dynamic in the coming two months.”
Speaking in the House of Commons, Davis suggested he was confident of some progress on the issue soon, saying: “Let’s just see what the European council comes up with on Friday, shall we?” Barnier rejected accusations that Europe was holding back progress, pointing out that the EU had had to wait for May to trigger the article 50 letter and for the result of a general election. “The EU is not holding anything or anybody back. We are ready and willing to even speed up the negotiation.”
He also set out what had been achieved in five rounds of talks so far, but said it was difficult to talk further about Northern Ireland without discussing trade. A senior EU official said May’s Florence speech, which contained a promise of a €20bn transition payments, had helped to unlock progress. Before the speech, EU capitals were “more and more were afraid we were heading to a no deal scenario”, but after the speech “the reading is we are negotiating in good faith and that a deal is still in reach”.
On the rights of EU citizens, he said there was agreement on a large number of areas but there were outstanding issues with professional qualifications, the right to vote in local elections, the right to onward movement, the right to return, the right to export a range of benefits and the right to bring in future family members. Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said in the Commons that Davis was failing to acknowledge the “seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in” and called on both sides to show more flexibility to break the deadlock.
Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said Davis was failing to acknowledge the “seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in” and called on both sides to show more flexibility to break the deadlock.
“Every passing week without progress on transitional arrangements make things worse, not better,” he said.“Every passing week without progress on transitional arrangements make things worse, not better,” he said.
Starmer accused the government of sounding too enthusiastic about failing to strike an agreement with the EU, saying “only fantastists and fanatics talk up no deal”.Starmer accused the government of sounding too enthusiastic about failing to strike an agreement with the EU, saying “only fantastists and fanatics talk up no deal”.
Davis responded by saying Starmer had no strategy of his own and denied accusations that he was talking up the prospect of not achieving a deal. But he also said it was “scaremongering” for the Resolution Foundation thinktank to say no deal would lead to a sharp increase in prices for food and other goods. Davis responded by saying Starmer had no strategy of his own, and he denied accusations that he was talking up the prospect of not achieving a deal. But he also said it was “scaremongering” for the Resolution Foundation thinktank to say no deal would lead to a sharp increase in prices for food and other goods.
May’s spokesman said the prime minister had updated her cabinet earlier on Tuesday before the European council summit, explaining that she believed her speech in Florence last month “had created momentum”. Conservative MPs are deeply split over whether the UK should be contemplating a “no deal” outcome, with some of the most strident Brexit supporters arguing that the UK should simply walk away without wasting time on talks.
There would be a time during the summit “where she would set out the UK’s position in relation to the UK leaving the European Union”, the spokesman said. “She said that the Florence speech had had a positive impact on negotiations going forward.” James Duddridge, a former minister and Brexit supporter, said no deal was his preferred way to “achieve a fast, clean and boring Brexit” and “the sooner we get on with it the better”.
In recent days May has made calls to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and attended a 90-minute dinner in Brussels with Juncker and Barnier. On the other side of the argument, Nicky Morgan, the Conservative former education secretary, urged Davis to beware the “siren voices” calling on him to walk away from Brexit talks.
However, a joint statement from Juncker and the prime minister following their dinner gave no indication of any movement in the British government’s favour, but instead included reference to the sequenced approach to the talks insisted upon by Brussels.
“The prime minister and the president of the European commission reviewed the progress made in the article 50 negotiations so far and agreed that these efforts should accelerate over the months to come. The working dinner took place in a constructive and friendly atmosphere,” it said.