May dines with EU leaders as Brexit stance hardens
April 27, 2017
Britain's Prime Minister May has invited key European Union figures to dinner as they push for British payments of up to 60 billion euros. Her spokesman said the rights of EU citizens would be discussed.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/T. Akmen
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British Prime Minister Theresa May dined with key EU Brexit negotiators in London on Wednesday, ahead of an EU summit on the matter.
May invited European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier for a "useful working dinner," her office said. She was joined by Britain's Brexit Minister David Davis and Finance Minister Philip Hammond, in an attempt to improve the atmosphere before Brexit talks start in earnest in early June, her aides said.
"Following the UK's letter of notification under Article 50, she reiterated the UK's commitment to achieving a deep and special partnership with the European Union," a statement from the prime minister's office said.
Ahead of the dinner her spokesman speculated that the rights of EU citizens would be part of the discussion. Davis said there would be "difficult issues to confront" in the negotiations, but asserted that Britain "has a very good reason to feel optimistic."
A spokesman for the European Commission described the meeting as "constructive."
The EU's latest draft negotiating guidelines reportedly call for Britain to pay EU dues until 2020 - a full year after it leaves - at a speculated cost of 60 billion euros (US$65 billion).
The draft guidelines reportedly also made new demands on financial services and immigration, with calls for Britain to grant EU citizens permanent residency after living there for five years. They also reportedly stated that Britain's finance industry would not necessarily be covered by any future trade deal with the EU and that it must follow the bloc's rules in exchange for easy access to EU markets.
EU Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska warned in an interview with German daily "Die Welt" that Britain "can't have everything in the end. They can't have their cake and eat it."
The dinner was one the latest in a series of talks with senior EU figures in recent weeks, including with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani and European Council chief Donald Tusk.
Britain is heading to a snap election on June 8 with May's Conservative Party holding a 16-point lead over the Labour Party, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday, a smaller lead than other polls suggested.
May called the election in a bid to bolster her majority in parliament ahead of the EU divorce talks.
May told the British parliament on Wednesday that her government wanted to secure "control of our borders, control of our laws, control of our money, and that's what we will deliver after Brexit."
Who's who in the UK snap election
UK Prime Minister May has called for a general election to take place on June 8, framing it as vote to counter the opposition's political road-blocking on Brexit. DW lays out the major players, parties and positions.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire
May calls voters to the polls
On April 18, British Prime Minister Theresa May called for an early general election, bumping it up from 2020. British voters are set to cast their ballots for the House of Commons' 650 seats on June 8. Brexit will likely dominate the campaign agenda, with many perceiving the election as a vote on May's Brexit leadership.
Image: Getty Images/D.Kitwood
Reason to be happy
Though May had previously denied she would call for an early ballot, she argued snap elections were now necessary to counter the opposition's "political game-playing" on the UK's departure from the European Union (EU). For May, who took office after David Cameron resigned in the wake of the Brexit referendum, the vote marks her first attempt to secure a popular mandate.
Image: Reuters/N. Hall
Conservatives stand to profit
With the opposition at its weakest position in years, the early election will likely prove a major boon to the Tories, allowing them to comfortably expand their current 17-seat majority in the House of Commons. Overall, the Conservatives have backed May's leadership as she steers the UK towards a hard Brexit, which includes removing the country from the European single market.
Image: Reuters/N. Hall
Jeremy Corbyn on board
Embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced his support of May's call for snap elections. He will attempt to position his party as an "effective alternative" to the Tories. Corbyn, a traditional labourist, will campaign on reversing government austerity, nationalizing railways, and investing in wages, all while steering clear of Brexit so as to not alienate the party's pro-leavers.
Image: Reuters/P. Nicholls
Battles within the Labour party
Analysts predict few election gains for Labour, however, as Corbyn's Old Labour policies and refusal to bend to backbench opposition have split the party. Some Labour MPs challenged his support of snap election, and Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said he would not stand for re-election due to "irreconcilable differences" with Corbyn.
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Farron seeks strong stance
Tim Farron, current leader of the Liberal Democrats said that, "only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority." After the party's coalition with the Conservatives under Cameron, the Lib Dems were smashed in 2015 national elections, receiving only nine seats. For Farron, the snap election will be a chance for him to significantly build up his party's representation in parliament.
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The "real opposition"
The pro-EU and economically liberal party also used May's announcement to call for a second Brexit referendum. In terms of the June elections, the Lib Dems could benefit from disaffected pro-EU Labour voters and those who seek a "soft Brexit" that would keep the UK in the European single market. According to the party, 1,000 people registered as Lib Dems just after May's announcement.
Trouble brewing in the north
Like the Lib Dems' Farron, first minister of the Scottish government and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon clearly positioned herself against May, describing the Prime Minister's move as a "huge political miscalculation." May and Sturgeon have been a loggerheads over whether or not a second Scottish referendum can go forward before Brexit comes into effect.
Image: Reuters/R. Cheyne
Support for independence?
The SNP already holds 54 of Scotland's allotted 59 MP seats, leaving little room for gain. However, the party is also unlikely to lose seats as their support has stayed steady. A majority of Scots voted to remain in the EU, meaning that Sturgeon could frame the election as both a call to Downing Street to consider a "soft Brexit" option and to consult the devolved nations in exit negotiations.
Image: Getty Images/C. Jackson
UKIP slips into the shadows
Despite being a major player in the campaign to take the UK out of the EU, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) currently has just one seat in parliament. However, the Euroskeptic party still has a support base, and leader Paul Nuttall will seek to paint May as a political opportunist. Yet this will not likely translate into seats as many former UKIP voters have joined May's "hard Brexit" bandwagon.
Image: Getty Images/J. Taylor
Bumper year of elections
Other parties currently holding Commons' seats include the Greens (one), Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (eight) and Sinn Fein (four), as well as Wales' Plaid Cymru (three). The June 8 election date places the UK's national election between that of France (April/May) and Germany (September), meaning parliamentary chambers on both sides of the channel may be in for a shake up.
