Donald Tusk
European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday he would call an extra Brexit summit of European Union leaders around mid-November to finalise a deal with Britain.
Tusk told a news conference before chairing a summit of all 28 EU leaders in the Austrian city of Salzburg later on Wednesday:
"The Brexit negotiations are entering their decisive phase. Various scenarios are still possible today but I'd like to stress that some of Prime Minister May's proposals from Chequers indicated positive evolution in the UK's approach."
One of the leading British politicians pushing for a sharp exit from the European Union, Jacob Rees-Mogg, says he has no interest in joining a campaign to disrupt EU operations organised by former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon.Rees-Mogg, whose image as an old-fashioned, unashamedly "posh" Conservative has endeared him to many voters disillusioned with more modern-looking politicians, said he had met Bannon only once, in 2017."Meeting someone does not mean you're endorsing them," he told Reuters in an interview."He is a very well informed man," Rees-Mogg said of Bannon, but added: "We just had a discussion on world affairs. His world view is not my world view."UK minister says new Brexit vote possible if parliament rejects May's planRees-Mogg, chair of the European Research Group of anti-EU Members of Parliament, is a leading light of the staunchly anti-EU wing of Theresa May's party that is urging the prime minister to drop her "soft Brexit" strategy which would maintain many of Britain's close ties to the bloc.He said he had had no contact with Bannon since the one meeting in 2017 and had no interest in supporting a Brussels-based, Europe-wide "Movement" that Bannon is putting together to elect right-wing nationalist and populist members in European Parliament elections next May.In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Bannon praised Rees-Mogg as a "very important" British leader.UK inflation jumps unexpectedly to hit 6-month high in AugustBut he said that as it appeared certain that Britain is leaving the EU, he and his advisors, including British European Parliament member Nigel Farage, decided some time ago not to involve Britain in The Movement.Bannon, who addressed a conference of France's far-right National Front in March, said he planned to speak at an populist gathering this weekend in Rome where Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who recently endorsed Bannon's Movement, will also speak.Before returning to the United States to help support pro-Trump candidates in Congressional elections, Bannon said he hoped to check in with other European leaders who might be interested in joining his campaign. Such figures are likely to include Hungarian Prime Minster Viktor Orban, Bannon's associates have said.Bank of England's Haldane says firms' Brexit worries up sharplyRees-Mogg is one of three British Conservatives Bannon identified as political contacts in a recent Reuters interview https://uk.reuters.com/article... .A spokesman for Environment Secretary Michael Gove, also identified by Bannon as a member of a "deep talent bench" of potential anti-EU Conservatives, said Gove had met Bannon briefly only once and that two meetings to discuss U.S. politics had been explored but never took place.During a visit to London in July, Bannon said he had spoken by phone and "texted a lot" with former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, seen as the most likely figure to challenge May's leadership. Johnson has not responded to requests for comment on his contacts with Bannon.New EU terms still mean unacceptable Irish sea border: N.Ireland's DUPRees-Mogg said that he did not regard himself as aligned with anti-EU forces on continental Europe."What's going on on the continent is very different" than what is happening in Britain, he said.He said that despite calls from some anti-Brexit politicians for a second referendum on Britain leaving the European Union, "I think there would be real anger" if significant moves were made to reverse or stop Brexit. Former Brexit minister says Eu exit talks will need a 'reset'
Prominent British Conservative distances himself from Steve Bannon
Britain could hold a second referendum on its European Union membership if lawmakers reject Prime Minister Theresa May's plan, a government minister said on Wednesday, as pro-EU campaigners set out how parliament could force a new vote.Britain's narrow 2016 vote to exit the EU still divides public opinion with less than seven months until the country is due to leave the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to win support at home and in Brussels for her exit plan.May has rejected the idea of a second referendum on leaving the EU, but one of her ministers said it could still happen if her negotiating strategy is rejected.UK inflation jumps unexpectedly to hit 6-month high in August"Those to the right of the party - the pro-Brexit wing - will be very concerned that if that deal doesn't prevail, they'll end up in the situation where we could have a second referendum and we could end up not leaving the EU altogether," said Mel Stride, a minister in Britain's finance ministry."There is a danger of that happening," he added.Stride's comments were contained within remarks setting out why he thought eurosceptic and pro-EU factions of May's party would ultimately come together to approve a deal with Brussels. He also argued that pro-EU lawmakers would back the outcome of negotiations to avoid leaving the bloc without any deal.Bank of England's Haldane says firms' Brexit worries up sharplyIn a report co-authored by the man who drafted the EU treaty clause Britain is using to exit the bloc, the People's Vote campaign said parliament would have a series of opportunities to encourage or force the government to hold a referendum."The die is not irrevocably cast, there is still time," said John Kerr, who wrote the Article 50 exit clause of the EU's Lisbon Treaty that May used in March 2017 to set a two-year countdown running on Britain's departure.The campaign cited polling data from YouGov showing more people would back a second vote than oppose one. Most opinion polls show a slight shift away from voting for Brexit, but overall opinion remains basically split down the middle.New EU terms still mean unacceptable Irish sea border: N.Ireland's DUPThe report set out six scenarios under which parliament could fight the government - ranging from technical procedures that would turn a planned vote in parliament on approving her deal into a one calling for a public vote, to the collapse of her government and a new election.All rely to some extent on May, who does not have an outright majority in parliament, failing to win over sceptical lawmakers within her own party."The combination of parliament having meaningful votes, together with the government’s lack of a reliable majority, means that MPs (Members of Parliament) will play a central role in scrutinising any deal and could yet reject it," the report said.Former Brexit minister says Eu exit talks will need a 'reset'The government has agreed to let lawmakers vote on whether to accept any deal May is able to negotiate with Brussels. But her negotiating plan is unpopular within her divided party, and it is not clear that she will be able to win a vote on it.Nevertheless, May said that if her deal is rejected by parliament, Britain will leave the bloc without any deal - an outcome that many economists, including the International Monetary Fund, say would damage the economy.Some pro-Brexit lawmakers argue that the dangers of leaving without a deal are being hyped up to generate fear, while both May's government and the EU have published no-deal contingency plans to try to mitigate any impact.
UK minister says new Brexit vote possible if parliament rejects May's plan
Tusk said that went for the UK's readiness to work closely with the EU on security and foreign policy after Brexit but stressed that Chequers proposals from premier Theresa May for the future Irish border and economic cooperation between the EU and Britain "will need to reworked and further negotiated".
"Today there is perhaps more hope but there is surely less and less time," Tusk added. "Every day that is left we must use for talks. I'd like to finalise them still this autumn," he said. He would propose that the EU leaders hold another extra summit on Brexit around mid-November.