Brexit at the core of Brussels EU Summit

The European Council meeting and Brexit are at the centre of media attention today. Prime Minister May has appealed to EU leaders to give her a Brexit deal that she can “defend” before the British people but she rejected calls from EU leaders that she must must make a clear commitment to paying a Brexit divorce bill if she wants talks to progress, say Cinco Dias and The Daily Telegraph, for instance. The British daily adds that Prime Minister May has also rejected demands by leading figures in the Leave campaign to formally declare that she is prepared to walk away from the EU if talks do not progress. She instead called for “joint effort and endeavour” and for negotiations to be conducted in a new spirit so that Britain and the EU can “move forward together”.

“Prime Minister May is calling on European citizens to the rescue of Brexit”, notes Le Figaro while reporting that, when she arrived at the EU Summit in Brussels yesterday, she invoked “urgency” for an agreement on the future of the three million EU nationals based in the UK and the millions of British people living on the continent. “A way to draw attention away from the failure she was prepared to face during the Summit”, points out Le Figaro.

Also as soon as she arrived in Brussels, Chancellor Merkel poured water on hopes of proceeding to the second stage of the EU-UK negotiations, stressing that “there is not sufficient progress to start”it. The EU-27, “in a very strong unity”, according to President Macron, should confirm this analysis on Friday, adds Le Figaro.

In a more optimistic tone, The Irish Examiner reports that Chancellor Merkel yesterday gave a boost to the UK by saying there had been encouraging signs that talks on the future UK-EU trade relationship could begin by December. Cinco Dias also notes that Prime Minister May received an unexpected boost from European Parliament President Tajani, who told the BBC his estimate of the Brexit bill was €60 billion at the most, far below the €100 billion suggested earlier.

Among others, the Austrian and Hungarian press as well as tsf.pt and Le Figaro also say that yesterday morning, Prime Minister May wrote an “open letter” to UK-based Europeans, in which she promised them a simplified and transparent process of regulation of their rights: “I couldn’t be clearer: EU citizens living lawfully in the UK today will be able to stay”.

Meanwhile, The Times reports that Brexit Secretary David Davis is to give an upbeat assessment of a “no-deal” Brexit in a presentation to the cabinet that is likely to alarm some pro-Remain colleagues. While speaking with Nea Savatokyriako, Prime Minister May notes that her ministers are fully dedicated to her vision. She explains that her Brexit vision is that of a strong, global UK that will have a deep and special partnership relation with the EU. She calls on the EU to be creative and practical in the Brexit negotiation. Prime Minister May asks that the talks about the future trade agreement between London and Brussels begin immediately. She underlines that considerable progress has already been recorded in sectors like citizens’ rights and Northern Ireland, while the UK has provided assurances to the EU over the mutual financial obligations.

Among today’s reactions, former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says, in an interview granted to Le Figaro, that in order to stop the UK’s exit from the EU, “there is no other issue than a vote to the Parliament rejecting the agreement on which Prime Minister May and Brexit Negotiator David Davis are working on”. Mr Clegg also highlights that “the gap between the Brexit utopia and reality is increasing every day”. He also insists on the fact that it is not too late to stop Brexit and even believes that Brexit will not happen; “at least, certainly not in the way it is currently envisaged”. Asked about the state of EU-UK relations, he believes that they are “seriously damaged” and that the two sides “will have to enter into an intense period of reflection”.

In a commentary for Süddeutsche Zeitung, Daniel Brössler thinks the UK believed the Brexit negotiations would be easier and the EU would readily accept Prime Minister May’s offer of €20 billion. However, this amount is not even close to the obligations the UK agreed to as a Member State. Prmie Minister May needs an agreement to shed light on the darkness of the post-Brexit age while the EU would not be happy in a no-deal-scenario, but could cope with it, concludes Mr Brössler.

In a critical tone towards the EU, MEPs Peter van Dalen (ECR Group) and Joël Voordewind (Christian Union) say in a Het Financieele Dagblad op-ed article that the EU’s demands for the UK in the Brexit negotiations are too high. There cannot be a solution for the Irish border issue if the EU continues to refuse to discuss the future trade relations with the UK, nor will the British Parliament agree to pay a divorce bill of billions of euros to the EU if there is not at least the promise of a good trade deal.

An Aamulehti opinion piece reads that it was delusional to think that with Brexit, the EU would be able to transform into a better functioning community. The failure to negotiate the terms of the exit is beginning to show that Brexit will clearly hurt the remaining Member States. One of the most regrettable features is that Brexit is taking the EU’s time and ability to intervene in Poland and Hungary. In a pessimistic tone, MEP Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) stresses, while speaking with Público, that he is fearful that the main victims of Brexit are going to be the citizens.

Along the same lines, the Financial Times’s Martin Wolf underlines in his editorial that it is “highly likely” that Brexit talks will fail and that it is wrong to think that the UK can survive well without a favourable deal or a transition to such a deal. In an opposite stance, The Daily Telegraph’s Chris Cummings comments that it is “clear” that both UK and EU negotiators are fully engaged in talks and in attempting to reach a solution. He also welcomes the growing sense of urgency surrounding the talks, and says that business needs to continue to make the case for a “mutually beneficial deal”.

In articles that focused solely on the EU Summit, Postimees reports that yesterday, the Heads of Member States and Governments discussed the wording of the EU asylum system reform and the conclusions concerning Schengen. According to the Estonian daily, the leaders were considering wording that would welcome progress on the EU’s common asylum system reform; however, it was also implied that there had not been much progress on the issue that creates the most opposition between Member States. Poland’s TVP2, for instance, says that migration policy, Brexit and security policy are the main topics of the two-day EU summit. The European Council will most likely not yield any concrete decisions, however, the final recommendations published after the meeting will be crucial, points out the Polish outlet.

Jyllands-Posten notes that leaders of Member States, while being gathered in Brussels, are also to discuss today a plan of action for the future of the EU. The plan has partly been made by President Tusk and consists of four pages of 38 items of which 13 will be discussed at the EU summit. An EU diplomat reports that the discussion will be influenced by President Macron and his need for more European cooperation while, on the contrary, La Libre Belgique says that a diplomat stressed that there is no sign of President Macron’s lyricism in President Tusk’s plan and that it is not as detailed as President Juncker’s vision. Details about President Tusk’s strategy are discussed in several other countries, such as in Poland, Italy and the Netherlands.