Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

May to sketch out Brexit to EU leaders

  • UK prime minister May will attend her first EU summit in Brussels (Photo: Reuters)

UK prime minister Theresa May will tell EU leaders on Thursday (20 October) how she foresees Brexit, but without going into much detail.

May will attend her first EU summit, where on Thursday evening she is expected to give an outline of the political situation in the UK and preparation of her country's exit from the European Union.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Fellow EU leaders are not expected to engage in a debate with her.

May herself will probably not go into details, diplomats say.

"I wouldn’t expect May to be very specific, concrete and set out a vision, where she wants to go," a senior EU diplomat said, adding that that will come when she triggers the exit procedure, article 50, towards the end of March.

Diplomats in Brussels note that May has not taken any decision on the exact relationship she would be aiming for at the end of the Brexit negotiations.

"We are at very early stages," an EU official said.

During Thursday's dinner, EU leaders might ask questions of May but are not expected to engage in a debate. EU Council chief Donald Tusk would prefer to have that discussion among the 27 leaders.

Tusk recently said in a speech there was only one alternative to "hard Brexit", which is to stay in the EU, but diplomats say May is expected to make clear that this will not happen.

"Brexit means a fundamental change, people are coming to terms with it," the diplomat said.

May will also hold bilateral meetings, but diplomats did not want to go into detail with whom she will meet on the sidelines of the summit.

She will have a working lunch with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

While May has already met Tusk and the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, it will be her first opportunity to discuss "the agenda and potential structure of the negotiations" with Juncker, the diplomat said.

Experts and diplomats tasked with preparing for negotiations with the UK in Brussels at the EU Commission and the EU Council have been screening EU rules to identify key points, where the UK and the bloc need to talk.

The Conservative leader said she would trigger Article 50 before the end of March, which is when the EU will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Rome treaty, its founding document.

Tusk warns UK on harsh realities of Brexit

EU Council chief Donald Tusk told London there will be no winners from Brexit, and no compromise on freedom of movement, yet held out an olive branch for the future.

May: Brexit is 'quiet revolution'

The British prime minister concluded the Tory party conference in the UK by pledging to regain control of immigration and by taking a swipe at pro-EU elites.

British MPs get chance to shape Brexit strategy

British prime minister Theresa May continued to talk tough on Brexit in a parliament debate on Wednesday, but left room for MPs to prevent a future trade war with the EU.

Brexit Briefing

The City is right to be worried

By promising to prioritise migration control in Brexit talks, prime minister Theresa May has given a clear signal that she will prioritise provincial England over bankers.

Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access

70 percent of northern Gaza is facing famine, new data shows. There is one shower per 5,500 people, and 888 people per toilet. 'How can you live in these conditions?" asked Natalie Boucly of UNRWA at the European Humanitarian Forum.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us