Theresa May will fly to Austria today for talks with other EU leaders as she tries to revive the Brexit talks after EU negotiator Michel Barnier rejected her Chequers plan.
The Prime Minister will have face to face talk with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Czech prime minister Andrej Babis and Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas at the Salzburg Festival.
The diplomatic blitz – which has seen Cabinet ministers flying to EU capitals all week – is aimed at building support for her controversial Brexit blueprint.
But her talks today will be overshadowed by Mr Barnier declaring last night he ‘cannot and will not’ accept a central plank of the proposals on customs.
The Prime Minister will have face to face talk with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (file), Czech prime minister Andrej Babis and Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas at the Salzburg Festival.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier killed off Theresa May’s Chequers plan for Brexit last night (pictured), warning he ‘cannot and will not’ accept proposals on customs.
Mr Barnier said the proposals – a complex system for Britain to collect EU tariffs to keep access to European markets while running its own trade policy with the rest of the world – undermine the EU’s customs union.
They have also been derided by Brexiteers in Britain as leaving the UK too close to the EU to make a trade policy work.
David Davis quit as Brexit Secretary claiming the plans would be rejected out of hand by the EU, while Boris Johnson also resigned in protest at the blueprint.
In a further blow to Mrs May, the Czech EU minister backed Mr Barnier’s position ahead of the PM talks today.