THE “strong and stable leadership” mantra was much in evidence across the airwaves yesterday as Theresa May brushed off calls for the UK to settle its Brexit bill before starting trade talks, and she reiterated that no deal on Europe was better than a bad deal.
May also denied she was “in a different galaxy” after EU leaders were said to be dismayed by her negotiating demands.
The Prime Minister said they knew that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” and claimed she was “confident” of securing a good deal on Brexit.
Her comments came as the other 27 EU leaders agreed their final negotiating guidelines, including an insistence on a “phased” approach which would put the rights of EU citizens and the disputed “divorce bill” as part of the first tranche of issues to be dealt with before trade talks begin.
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the EU estimated the bill to be €40-60 billion (£33.6-£50.4bn), which mainly covers financial commitments made by the bloc while Britain was a member.
May told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “What they [EU leaders] are very clear about is, yes, they do want to start discussions about money.
“I’m very clear that at the end of the negotiations we need to be clear not just about the Brexit arrangement, the exit, how we withdraw, but also what our future relationship is going to be.”
Pressed on whether or not she would commit to paying a divorce bill before Britain leaves the bloc, she said: “The EU has also said that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
Donald Tusk, the European Council’s president, has previously said that reciprocal guarantees, which also provided certainty for British ex-pats living on the continent, were foremost among issues to be addressed.
“There are things we absolutely agree should be early on in those discussions, the position of EU citizens living here in the UK and the position of UK citizens living in those 27 European countries, absolutely we agree should be in the discussions,” said May. She also restated her insistence that leaving the EU with no deal would be better than taking a “bad deal”.
When asked if she still believed it on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, she said: “Yes I do. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t believe that.
“But what I also believe is that with the right strong hand in negotiations we can get a good deal for the UK from these negotiations.”
May also hit back at claims reported in an English Sunday newspaper that EU leaders had said she was “in a different galaxy” after meetings with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
According to the paper, Juncker told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that May was “in a different galaxy”, adding that it looked more likely now that no deal would be reached at all.
But May told Marr: “I’m not in a different galaxy.
“I think what this shows and what some of the other comments we’ve seen coming from other European leaders show is that there are going to be times when these negotiations are going to be tough.
“I want to ensure we agree on a trade deal and withdrawal arrangements for... when we leave the European Union.
“And the EU has itself said that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” she added, while suggesting that further battles could lie ahead over the structure of the negotiations.
“That’s why you need strong and stable leadership in order to conduct those negotiations and get the best deal for Britain.”
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