The EU may be ready but it is still waiting to start Brexit talks with the UK.
EU leaders and officials were surprised, confused and a little bemused at the results of the UK’s snap election (see EUROPE 11769), which was meant to give Conservative prime minister Theresa May a strong mandate to enter Brexit talks but, instead, left her without a majority in parliament.
RESULTS
While the Conservatives won the largest number of seats in the UK parliament (318 out of 650, 8 seats short of a majority, with one seat still to be confirmed on Friday afternoon), Ms May said she will “work with our friends and allies” in Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, to make up the numbers.
The DUP is strongly pro-Brexit and staunchly conservative, opposed to abortion and gay marriage. In its election manifesto, it insisted it wanted a “frictionless border” with the Irish Republic and a “comprehensive free trade and customs agreement with the European Union"- priorities which match those of the UK Conservative party. It also wants to opt in to EU funds “where proven to be cost-effective and add value” and continue to participate in research and other programmes open to non-EU members.
Many hope that the results will bring about a “softer” Brexit, for instance, where the UK could remain a part of the customs union. Irish prime minister-elect Leo Varadkar, who will take up office next week, said there was “no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit, which represents an opportunity for Ireland”. And political consultancy Eurasia said in a note that “the odds of a softer Brexit are higher” following the election.
BREXIT TALKS
May said she would seek to “guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days”, indicating her intention to stick to the EU’s preferred timetable. The European Commission had wanted to start talks in the week of 19 June, to give the UK time to form a government and to be able to debrief EU leaders, who reunite in Brussels for a summit on 22-23 June.
“I do hope that the result of the elections will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for” said European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Prague after the election results came in. The Commission intends to hold the talks at its headquarters in Brussels, though the date, location and logistics have not been formally agreed with the UK.
European Council president Donald Tusk, in a letter to Theresa May, said there was “no time to lose”. “Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019” Mr Tusk wrote.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted that negotiations should only start “when UK is ready”. “Timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal”, he wrote on Twitter.
‘CHAOS’
MEPs were less diplomatic, with the Parliament’s end negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, tweeting that the election results were “yet another own goal” for the UK Conservatives, following ex-premier David Cameron’s failed referendum, and that it would “make already complex negotiations even more complicated”.
The head of the centre-right European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, tweeted that the UK was “deeply split”, that May had “brought chaos to her country” and that “the date for the beginning of negotiations is now unclear”.
Socialist leader Gianni Pittella said the result was a “disaster for Theresa May”. “UK citizens have clearly rejected her vision of the UK and of Brexit and she should resign - she has no credibility in her own country or in Europe now”, Mr Pittella said. “We now need a serious discussion with the UK about its future relationship with the EU. We have already wasted enough time because of Theresa May’s erratic behaviour.”
Philippe Lamberts, co-president of the Green group, said May would have to “reconsider her position” in the talks. “British citizens have refused to give her a strong mandate for negotiating a hardline position on their country’s EU exit”, Mr Lamberts said. “This result shows that the British remain divided about their country’s exit and their negotiating position on Brexit.”
The Council working group on Brexit is due to have a meeting on 15 June to discuss the start of talks with the UK, though it is not clear now what the agenda of the meeting will be. (Sarah Collins)