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Brexit: France and Germany split as EU leaders debate length of further article 50 extension - live news
Brexit: France and Germany split as EU leaders debate length of further article 50 extension - live news
(about 2 hours later)
Here are the EU leaders around the summit table.
This is from Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory Brexiter, responding to a New York Times article about the German Europe minister, Michael Roth, criticising Rees-Mogg for saying the UK would be disruptive if forced to stay in the EU.
This is from the Telegraph’s James Crisp.
A Eurocrat thinks it is out of order to stand up for democracy, it is typical of their high handed approach and encourages us to be difficult.https://t.co/bYVHCPYnux
Theresa May has left the summit building for dinner. She is expected to return later.
Theresa May is now having dinner with her team in a discreet location away from the Justus Lipsius building where the 27 are arguing over the length of the article 50 extension while eating warm scallop salad, cod with shrimps and an iced macademia nut parfait.
France and Germany are understood to be at loggerheads over both the length of the extension and the conditions that the EU should put on a delay to Brexit.
One consequence of any decision to grant a longer delay to Brexit is likely to be that she attempts to cling on as leader for even longer.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is arguing that a short extension to 30 June is unlikely to provide enough time for the impasse in Westminster to be broken, and Berlin is seeking an extension until 31 December.
Some Tory MPs, such as Peter Bone, have questioned if she should now stand down after saying she would not “as prime minister” entertain a delay longer than June 30. (See 4.02pm.)
Germany believes that the biggest incentive for Conservative MPs to back the Brexit deal is the threat of holding European elections.
On the 20th March, at PMQs, I asked the PM about an extension to Article 50. She said “As Prime Minister, I could not consider a delay further beyond the 30th June.” So, if the PM intends to keep her word, can we expect her resignation later tonight?
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, is understood to looking at a very short extension, possibly up until immediately before the European elections, sources have said. There could be a further extension if the UK signs up to stringent conditions, Macron has said.
But Tory sources are clear that she has abandoned her position that she could not support a long delay, saying she would accept an extension as long as it has a break clause if her withdrawal deal passes.
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has the iPad scoop. (See 6.22pm.)
In contrast, May has not dropped her pledge to stay on for as long as the first phase of EU negotiations last and carry on attempting to pass her withdrawal agreement for as long as it takes. In practice, this could be nine months or a year if the EU grant a lengthy extension.
IPAD NEWS! the gag was apparently a side by side pic of May and Merkel taking questions in their own parliaments this afternoon, wearing the same colour of jacket..... #brexitbantz, kind of
This is what a senior Tory source says:
Theresa May has now finished making her pitch to her fellow EU leaders.
When she made the announcement at the 1922 [Committee] and in front of parliament that she was prepared to stand down as prime minister once we had completed phase one of the negotiations and for there to be a new leadership in place for phase two, effectively that is the ratification of the withdrawal agreement. That remains the case.
Now she is out of the room, and the EU27 are deciding what to do next.
She understands that the Conservative party feels a sense that new leadership is required for the second phase of negotiations. That was the commitment she gave to her parliamentary colleagues and that’s one she stands by.
This is the key meeting of the evening.
Conservative MPs may try take matters out of her hands and attempt to force her out. But their hands are somewhat tied by the rules of the 1922 Committee that mean she cannot face a challenge within 12 months of the previous one - in December last year.
Q&A session with PM @theresa_may finished. Next: EU27 discussion on #Brexit.
And while we’re on the subject of comments BTL, thank you to everyone who has provided an answer to my query about “Brexit-Krimi-Nacht”. (See 9.37pm.) Here is a selection of the responses - all giving substantially the same answer, but with some readers picking up slightly different nuances from what is implied.
This is from BuzzFeed’s Europe editor, Alberto Nardelli.
It sounds like a German version of the joke about tonight being the season finale of the Brexit box set.
EUCO: I’m told PM May’s intervention is so far more solid than usual, though not many specifics. Sense is that May is open to a longer extension, as long as it can be terminated early, source says. Leaders have many questions.
I don’t know if this was intentional, but Theresa May and Angela Merkel are both fans of lowbrow detective drama. Merkel likes Midsomers Murders. (David Cameron apparently arranged to watch one when Merkel visited Chequers, as part of his doomed attempt to butter her up.) And May likes NCIS - another extremely undemanding crime drama.
At his press conference Antonio Tajani, the president of the European parliament, made it clear that he was not happy about the idea of the UK electing MEPs on 23 May, only for them to not take their seats in the parliament if Brexit took place before 30 June. Theresa May seems to think this would be possible, but Tajani said he disagreed. These are from the Sun’s Nick Gutteridge.
The plot twists in Brexit are infinitely more thrilling ...
EP Pres Tajani: ‘We’re not going to be taken for granted. Electing MEPs and then them not taking up their posts, please, that’s not possible. We’ll fight any action that hinders the image of our institution.’ Says he’s ‘fine’ with Boris Johnson’s dad standing in EU elections.
"Krimi-Nacht" seems to cause some confusion. It mainly means you binge-watch some detecitive stories.Bit like Hercule Poirot, Inspector Clouseau and Kommisar Rex all trying to figure out what Brexit means, while at the same time asking Miss Marple if she also knows anything about it?
So if UK decides to hold elections on May 23 then leave before June 30, as is the PM’s plan, the EP is going to be very unhappy indeed...Tajani was basically saying such a scenario would make a mockery of his institution.
"Krimi" is here coloquial and idiomatic. Here, perhaps "night of suspense"; journalese would be "night of (high) drama.".
Here is the iPad clip. (See 6.22pm.)
Possible translations in general - "a cliffhanger", "on tenterhooks".
The tablet. #EUCO pic.twitter.com/EXlf1UM6Ft
It's the short form of "Kriminalroman", which literally means "detective story", or "crime/detective thriller".
Here is footage of the EU leaders milling around at the start of the meeting.
"Krimi-Nacht" would be a long evening with one of the detective films that are so popular in Germany, where you have to guess who done it, till the end. They can be very long, or at least seem very long, until the solution. The metaphor can also be used for a football game "Fußball-Krimi", and, alas, for Brexit.
Roundtable at today's Special #EuropeanCouncil #Article50 https://t.co/B1ApsLLBIR
Krimi-Nacht translates as thriller night Andrew. No real crime planned except the total waste of time and energy Brexit involves.
The highlight came when Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, showed Theresa May something on her iPad. May responded with a burst of laughter.
I think the joke with the Brexit Krimi Nacht comment is that Krimi are usually considered low quality, cheap TV thrillers. That’s why’s its funnny
Sadly, the EU does not provide audio with this footage, so we don’t know what the joke was.
Andrew: the German word "Krimi" usually means a thriller (like a film or novel) so "Brexit-Krimi-Nacht" is a phrase which evokes a night of watching a Brexit horror film :)
Here is Theresa May sitting alongside Donald Tusk at the European council meeting.
I am afraid we are going to have to close the comments at 10.30pm. I am sorry about that, but our comments need to be moderated, we have not got an infinite supply of moderators, and the ones that we do have, who are all excellent, do sometimes like to go home.
#euco #brexit pic.twitter.com/OhHowz1RNi
From my colleague Jennifer Rankin
Antonio Tajani, the president of the European parliament, is now holding a press briefing after his session with the EU leaders. (See 5.37pm.)
Theresa May was "better than last time but still somewhat evasive on the big questions" says one EU source.Member state views vary. EU27 discussions ongoing.
He says he has eight points.
These are from the Irish Times’ Pat Leahy.
First, it is important to end the uncertainty around Brexit, he says.
A read from inside the Council room – several leaders have spoken, vast majority in favour of a long extension, with some favouring December and some March of next year. Dutch PM Mark Rutte spoke first. Macron has not spoken yet.
Second, he said a no-deal Brexit could be avoided at all costs.
Overwhelming expectation that there will be a long extension agreed though there still significant French opposition to this.
Third, he says the parliament wants to see an agreement between the government and the opposition in London as soon as possible.
Mrs May told leaders that she believes she can get Withdrawal Treaty passed, that negotiations with Labour are “going well” according to a person briefed on the early exchanges. This was not widely believed by EU leaders.
Fourth, he says he wants greater clarity about the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
She said the UK government doesn’t expect to run EU elections, but they will if they have to.
Fifth, he says the parliament wants more clarity about what is being negotiated in London, and it wants to know if there will be a clear majority of a way ahead.
Asked if Mrs May had given a “detailed road map” to passing the treaty and exiting, one source briefed on the discussions said – no, because she can’t.“The end of year seems to be the preference,” says a source.
Sixth, he says the parliament wants to know the UK will do if no agreement is reached. Will there be a referendum or a general election, or will article 50 be revoked?
Florian Eder at Politico Europe says this tweet, from a German journalist, matches what we have been told about picture on Angela Merkel’s iPad that caused her and Theresa May some amusement. (See 6.22pm.)
Seventh, he says an extension must not be allowed to reopen the withdrawal agreement.
#May und #Merkel zeitgleich in London und Berlin, bevor sie wieder gemeinsam in Brüssel eine Brexit-Krimi-Nacht durchmachen. @phoenix_de pic.twitter.com/aezOzrSKOo
Eighth, he says if the UK remains in the EU beyond the European elections, it must take part in those election. But the elections should not be viewed as a game, he says.
Twitter translates this as “#May And #Merkel at the same time in London and Berlin before they go through a Brexit crime night together again in Brussels.” I’m afraid the “Brexit-Krimi-Nacht” reference is a bit beyond me. If someone can explain BTL, please do ...
He says these are the points he made when he addressed EU leaders earlier.
From my colleague Jennifer Rankin
He says, asked what would happen to British MEPs after Brexit, he said they would not be able to stay in the parliament.
Many EU leaders asked Theresa May about the EU elections, according to a senior source. France is proving hardest to convince that Theresa May is serious about UK participation in elections if long extension.
The session with the president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, is over. Now the European council is starting its session with Theresa May, who will formally make her request for an article 50 extension lasting until 30 June.
These are from the Telegraph’s James Rothwell and the Express’s Joe Barnes.
She set out her case in the letter she sent to Donald Tusk, the council president, last week.
Sources say all member states have backed an extension of some duration. Understand France leaning towards June extension. But whispers also that Macron thinks leaving with no deal is less risky than UK disrupting EU from within
Exchange with @EP_President finished. Next: PM @theresa_may will exchange views with EU27 leaders. #brexit #euco
Hearing from diplomatic sources that Emmanuel Macron will be one of the last of the EU27 leaders to take the floor during the discussions on Theresa May’s Brexit delay. Talks currently ‘difficult’.
Here is the Guardian’s story from the opening of the summit.
From my colleague Jennifer Rankin
May signals she would accept EU offer of longer Brexit delay
Emmanuel Macron is taking the strictest line at the summit, as expected. Senior French source says that endangering the functioning of the EU "is not preferable to no-deal".
Here is a clip of Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, speaking to the media when he arrived earlier. He said any article 50 extension would have to be “useful” and “serve a purpose”.
From the AFP’s Damon Wake
Any extension has to be useful and serve a purpose. Our common purpose is to get the ratification of the withdrawal agreement.
Elysee source says France isn't ruling out a long extension 'but we'd need a justification that so far we haven't had'.
This withdrawal agreement is the only was to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the UK which is our common purpose.
And this is from my colleague Daniel Boffey.
As he arrives at the EU summit, Michel Barnier says "any extension has to be useful and serve a purpose"Get live updates as Theresa May asks EU leaders to delay Brexit until 30 June https://t.co/1qEIEYOoan pic.twitter.com/Z5VZa1WTNW
Summit: Told May didn’t push back against suggestion of long extension in address to leaders, instead insisting priority was to be able to leave once the deal approved. The PM asked leaders to avoid situation in which would have to return to Brussels to ask for extension.
This is from Preben Aamann, Donald Tusk’s spokesman. EU leaders have just started the first item on the summit agenda - a meeting with Antonio Tajani, president of the European parliament.
Tusk has just started the special #euco on #Brexit. First an exchange of views with @EP_President Tajani.
Xavier Bettel, the prime minister of Luxembourg, proposed “an intelligent extension” as he arrived at the summit. Asked what length extension he favoured, he said:
I would support an intelligent extension. If it’s long or short, the main point for me is that we have European elections. You can’t be a member and have no elections ...
If there is a longer extension, there is no lunch for free. So we need to know why, the reason they need a longer extension.
He also said that he hoped Brexit would be a “friendly divorce”.
Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, was more reflective than most of the other EU leaders when he spoke to reporters on the way in. Here are the main points he made.
Varadkar said he was “very confident” that the UK would be offered another extension and that there would not be a no-deal this Friday. But what he did not know was how long the extension would last, or what conditions would be attached.
He said the “vast majority” of people in the EU were sympathetic to Britain’s plight. He said:
I think the vast majority of people here in the European Union appreciate that the United Kingdom is in a difficult position. It does not want to leave without a deal at the moment, it doesn’t want to vote for the deal and of course a lot of people, maybe even half the population, don’t want to leave at all. So I believe the consensus here in Brussels, and across the European Union, will be to give the United Kingdom a little bit more time for the cross-party talks that are happening to conclude. And we can review the situation then in a few months’ time.
He said he wanted to see the UK in a customs union with the EU, and that the EU should agree to let the UK have a say when it negotiates trade deals. He explained:
One thing I would like to be considered, and I know it is under consideration, is the possibility of a customs union being formed between the United Kingdom and the EU. Ultimately the European Union, we are the biggest trading bloc in the world. We trade more than China. We’ve a bigger population than the US. And, in a world of big blocs, it’s in the interests of the UK to be part of one of those blocs. It is also in our interests to have the UK in our bloc. I think we would be generous negotiating that, understanding that the UK could not be a silent partner in such an arrangement. It would have to have a say in decisions being made.
Because of the shared border, Ireland would benefit more than any other EU economy from having the UK in the customs union, and so Varadkar’s support for the idea is not surprising. But this may be the first time he has floated the idea of the UK being able to have a say over EU trade policy as a third country. This is something that the Labour party is also proposing, as part of its customs union plan, but until now it has generally been seen as an unrealistic demand in Brussels.
Varadkar said Britain’s adversarial political system was part of the problem. He said that he understood Theresa May’s difficulties, because he does not have a majority in parliament either. He went on:
Perhaps other countries in Europe, including Ireland, have more of a tradition of political parties working together and compromising. The British approach to politics is much more adversarial. I’m not sure, on balance, that’s actually in the UK’s longterm interests.
Here are some extracts from what Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said as she arrived at the summit.
Merkel bei EU-Gipfel in Brüssel: "Wir sollten offen und konstruktiv mit der Bitte der britischen Premierministerin um Verlängerung umgehen. Ein geordnetes Ausscheiden Großbritanniens aus der EU ist auch in unserem Interesse." #Brexit
Anyone wondering what Merkel said: "We should be open and constructive with the British Prime minister's Request for An extension. An orderly Withdrawal of Britain from the EU is also in our Interest. " #Brexit https://t.co/5awVIPzWOQ
