IT was a speech full of conciliatory overtones; a reaching out to EU negotiators on a compromise first step towards British departure from the European fold. Prime Minister Theresa May’s intention in Florence yesterday was aimed at clearing the air in the Brexit talks, creating dialogue and taking back ground from the plotters within her own party. The UK will be the “strongest friend and partner” of the EU after Brexit, she insisted.
On trade, she said the two sides could do “so much better” than adopt existing models and there was “no need to impose tariffs where there are none now”.
On security, Mrs May proposed a “bold new strategic agreement” and spoke of how optimistic she was about this “defining moment” in UK history. It was all a far cry from the “them-and-us” mindset so prevalent to date in the UK’s Brexit negotiations. For a full 35 minutes this was a speech aimed at reassuring European counterparts that the British Government was full of good intentions. How convinced they will be remains to be seen.
At home, the contents of her speech may well resonate disappointingly among Brexiters who will see it as yet more prevarication. There is no getting away from the fact that the Prime Minister was outlining was a Brexit delayed until 2021.
Mrs May’s proposals for a two-year transition period after leaving in March 2019 means that Britain will effectively keep its existing relationship with the EU five years on from the referendum that first triggered the process. For impatient Brexiters this will not sit well. It is well known that, within the Cabinet and wider Tory party, there exists a range of opinions about the pace of change and Brexit implementation.
At the heart of divorce proceedings remains the symbolically important question of just how much it will cost Britain, in hard cash, to withdraw its EU membership. From the outset Mrs May has vowed to make the payments that the UK has committed to in the present budgetary period. That pledge implies the UK will pay the EU around €20 billion (£17bn).
But pressure from pro-Brexit supporters in the Tory party to reduce the bill refuses to go away. Ultimately, the key issue is likely to be how her speech is received not just by EU leaders but also within Tory ranks.While Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson heaped praise on the Prime Minister on Twitter, saying her speech was “positive, optimistic and dynamic” Nigel Farage, former leader of Ukip’ described “her vision” as leaving the EU in name only and re-badging the status quo.
Mrs May’s speech was about many things but, above all, it was first and foremost gesture politics intended to reassure business, assuage European and domestic critics and give the impression that the Brexit ship is on an even keel.
If there is agreement on one thing, it is that the clock is ticking. As EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier pointed out recently, there is only a year left to find an agreement that stops Britain from crashing out of the bloc. Mrs May has her work cut out.
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