Theresa May to get 10 minutes to deliver Brexit pitch to EU leaders

Theresa May will have just ten minutes to make a Brexit pitch to leaders of EU countries tomorrow as Britain’s talks with Brussels to strike a deal enter the ‘home straight’.

The Prime Minister will address leaders of the other EU nations at a meeting in Salzburg tomorrow but will be given a brief time slot – despite European leaders being in the Austrian city for two days.

EU Council president Donald Tusk is alleged to have shut down any opportunity for debate and insisted the heads of state will discuss their response without her present.

Theresa May is heading to Salzburg, where she will address the heads of state of the other EU nations

Despite the shortened time slot, the Prime Minister appeared optimistic about the meeting in Salzburg tomorrow – and insisted her Chequers plan was the only realistic Brexit plan in the eyes of the EU.

Speaking to the Daily Express, she said: ‘Brexit gives us the opportunity to build a better future and to help people to realise the British dream.

‘We gave people the opportunity to make a choice. They made that choice.

‘If we as politicians want people to trust us, then we have to deliver for them on that.

‘I’m putting on the table what we think is the right plan for the UK and deliver a good deal for the EU.

‘When the referendum took place, we gave people the opportunity to make a choice. They made that choice. If we as politicians want people to trust us, then we have to deliver for them on that. If we were to go back on that vote, it would destroy trust in politicians.

‘A lot of people out there, however they voted in the referendum, say a decision’s been taken, let’s get on with and do it.

‘I’m confident we can get a good deal. We’ve put the Chequers plan on the table and that does deliver for people.

The Prime Minister will reportedly only get ten minutes to deliver her Brexit pitch

‘I believe that what we’re proposing is the Brexit that delivers the freedoms that people voted for – making our own laws, controlling our own borders, controlling our money.

‘What I hear from other EU leaders is a recognition of that timetable and a recognition of the importance of showing we can sit down and come to an agreement.

‘I’m not going to be pushed away from doing what is necessary to get the right deal for Britain.

‘The plan that is on the table to take us forward, the plan that delivers on the Brexit vote but also protects jobs and maintains the unity of the UK is the Chequers plan. I haven’t seen another plan that delivers on all of those. she said.

‘I think people want to come together. For most people, they want Brexit done and they want to feel the country at last has come together.

‘As a nation, we’re at a really important point in our history. Brexit is that important point because our future is in our own hands.

‘We’ll have the opportunity to take the freedoms that people voted for and use them to deliver that better future for everybody.’

A Number 10 staffer urged the EU to ‘evolve’ its Brexit position following news Mrs May would have just ten minutes to appeal to European leaders.

They said: ‘Just as the UK has evolved its position, the EU will need to do the same.

A Number 10 staffer urged the EU to ‘evolve’ its Brexit position following news Mrs May would have just ten minutes to appeal to European leaders

‘Neither side can demand the unacceptable of the other, such as an external customs border between different parts of the UK.’

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier hinted the EU was willing to compromise with Britain in order to strike a deal – something that would provide a much needed boost to the Prime Minister. 

Following a meeting with representatives of the other 27 EU nations, Michel Barnier said October will prove decisive to ‘see if a Brexit agreement is within reach’.

The 67-year-old added that talks were in the ‘home straight’ during a speech in Brussels last night, although two key issues remained unresolved ahead of October’s deadlines – one being the problem surrounding the Irish border.

Barnier said that an Irish ‘backstop’ must be legally operationally and respect the UK’s constitutional integrity.  

‘We are ready to improve this proposal. Most checks can take place away from the border, at company premises, or the market,’ Barnier said of customs and regulatory checks on goods that might move from British mainland to Northern Ireland. 

Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Barnier said: ‘It is then we shall see whether agreement we are hoping for is in our grasp.

‘October is the key point in time – it is the moment of truth. We will see whether an agreement is in reach at that moment based on a subjective evaluation which I will be submitting in reporting to the European leaders on the state of negotiations.’ 

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