European Union leaders will give British Prime Minister Theresa May a tough reception in Brussels on Wednesday, warning her to rally support at home for the Brexit deal on offer or be cut loose without one in March.
May will address the other 27 EU national leaders at a summit before they sit down to dinner without her. Officials said they expected the leaders to tell May they have little more to offer since talks stalled on Sunday and they will step up preparations for Britain to drop out of the bloc with no deal.
Summit chair Donald Tusk warned that the risk of a “no deal” dumping Britain out of the bloc and into legal limbo and border chaos on March 29 was greater than ever. He put the onus on May to bring a “creative” solution to break the impasse over the EU-UK land border on the island of Ireland.
Tusk called it a “Gordian Knot”, making clear he did not see May as a contemporary “Alexander the Great”, capable of slicing through the tangle of opposition she faces in London and Belfast over her Brexit plan in order to clinch a treaty with the EU.
The “no deal” message is sincere enough. It is also a tactic to pressure a negotiating partner the EU views as weak. And it might just help May by giving her the kind of political theatre useful in persuading Britons she has fought for the best deal.
More subtly, leaders may also sound relaxed on the calendar for talks. On Tuesday, officials echoed the mantra that “the clock is ticking” to agree a treaty that parliaments can ratify in time for Brexit. But, sensing more urgency in London, senior EU officials said Brussels would “keep calm and carry on”, ready to wait till December or even later to clinch a final agreement.
“For now, Britain is negotiating with Britain,” Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said, referring to May’s troubles with her own cabinet and supporters. “We need more weeks to see if we can get a deal. We’ll work calmly.”
Germany’s Europe minister called on May to “take responsibility and be constructive”. But some diplomats believe May could be unable to move again in negotiations until after she has steered her budget through parliament in early November.
Citing a German government document, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported late on Tuesday that the European Commission had offered to allow Britain – “in a good will gesture” – to remain in the EU customs union and internal market beyond an agreed transitional arrangement until the end of December 2020.