Yahoo Finance 'Dancing Britain off a cliff' - EU verdict on May's speech
Theresa May has been accused in Brussels of “dancing Britain off a cliff” after refusing to rule out a ‘no-deal’ Brexit or deviate from the Chequers plan in her conference speech.
The prime minister self-depreciatingly strode onto stage in Birmingham to Abba hit ‘Dancing Queen’ before delivering a confident speech which will silence her internal critics for now.
It also won her plaudits from Sweden’s ambassador to the UK.
As Swedish Ambassador I can only say Bravo to @theresa_may for starting her conference speech with ABBA’s Dancing Queen. #CPC18
— Torbjörn Sohlström (@sohlstromt) October 3, 2018
But her decision to sing the same tune on Brexit just two weeks before the deadline for a deal has been branded a reckless misstep on the continent.
May didn’t say the word ‘Chequers’ once but called for unity over proposals which have repeatedly been rejected by the EU.
The prime minister said they were the only way to deliver frictionless trade and avoid a hard border in Ireland.
She said a ‘no-deal’ Brexit would be a “bad outcome” but refused to rule it, saying to do so would “weaken our negotiating position.”
MORE: EU gives May 28 days to change Chequers plan or face no-deal Brexit
Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian MEP on the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said the speech showed May was “dancing Britain off a cliff to the tune of her divided party.”
“Mrs May saying that she’s not afraid of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit shows that she is willing to risk the jobs and futures of millions of British and EU citizens who live with fear and uncertainty,” he said.
“Instead of trying to appease the hard Brexiteers, she should be working for a deal which preserves citizens’ rights and peace in Ireland.”
Swedish MEP Cecilia Wikstrom suggested May’s speech was another attempt to have her cake and eat it by leaving the EU but maintaining some benefits of the single market.
.@theresa_may No deal is a bad deal for all, let us work together to make the best of the sorry situation that is #Brexit Do not expect to eat, and keep, the cake. Leaving has consequences #CPC18 #eupol
— Cecilia Wikström(L) (@CeciliaWikstrom) October 3, 2018
On Ireland, May said she wouldn’t accept a deal that “carves off Northern Ireland” – a reference to EU proposals to effectively keep it in the customs union in order to prevent border checks.
Instead, she again pushed Chequers proposals which she said would “protect our precious Union”, arguing: “The seamless border in Northern Ireland, a bedrock of peace and stability, would see no change whatsoever.”
Gabrielle Zimmer, a German MEP on the steering group, said it was not a “viable” proposal that would guarantee the peace process after Brexit.
“She had nothing more to say on Brexit than things we already knew,” said Zimmer.
MORE: Accepting May’s Brexit plan would be ‘suicidal’ for EU, says French minister
“If the British government does not want a fair deal, if it does not want to fulfil its commitments, now is the time to admit it.”
Irish senator Neale Richmond, who speaks for the country’s governing Fine Gael party on Brexit, said it was time for the megaphone diplomacy to give way to detailed negotiations.
“With the clock ticking, we need to see more detail from the British Government, the speeches must end, an alternative legal interpretation of the backstop agreed upon in December needs to be tabled,” he said.
“Following the Prime Minister’s speech in Birmingham, it is vital now that the focus of Brexit talks must now return to hammering out a deal in the coming days.”
Asked explicitly today whether May needs to “chuck Chequers” to get a deal as Boris Johnson suggested, a European Commission spokesman said: “It’s time to pursue these negotiations and bring them to a good end.”
MORE: EXCLUSIVE: EU says publishing its Chequers analysis would risk ‘jeopardising’ Brexit deal
