May wins Brexit reprieve

Brussels : British Prime Minister Theresa May won a modest reprieve in stalled Brexit talks yesterday, with European Union leaders signalling their readiness to move the negotiations forward in the coming months.

But despite a more positive tone, a weakened May now faces a delicate political balancing act as she tries to meet EU demands for more concrete pledges on Britain’s divorce bill without stoking a backlash from Brexit campaigners at home, some of whom would prefer she walk away from the talks.

EU leaders said at a summit in Brussels that they would begin preparations to move into “phase two” of the Brexit negotiations in December, a step forward that would allow London to discuss its future trade relationship with the bloc.

Yet they also made clear that May would have to move between now and the end of the year on settling a financial bill that EU officials have estimated at around 60 billion euros (53.72 billion pounds).

“I think it is very clear what additional steps need to be taken,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference at the end of the summit, saying movement on the financial settlement was crucial for progress in December.

French President Emmanuel Macron was tougher, saying the two sides had not yet completed even half of the work on the financial settlement and accusing Britain of “bluffing” by using the media to suggest there could be no deal.

“A lot is in the hands of Theresa May,” he said. An EU official said it took just 90 seconds for the 27 other leaders to adopt their Brexit conclusions at the end of the meeting, underlining how united they are.

May has said she cannot provide a specific financial pledge until she knows the shape of the future relationship. 

Asked whether she had improved an offer of about 20 billion euros, May said she had repeated commitments she made in a speech in Italy last month, when she said the bloc would not be out of pocket when it came to its budget which runs until 2020.

“What I made clear to my EU counterparts in relation to financial contributions... is that nobody need be concerned for the current budget plans ... and that we will honour the commitments that we have made during our membership,” she told a news conference before returning to Britain.