Tusk Says U.K. Is Wasting Time as It Picks New PM: Brexit Update
EU Stands Firm, Says It Won’t Renegotiate Deal: Brexit Update
(Bloomberg) --
European Union leaders are grappling with questions over how a new British prime minister will affect Brexit at a summit in Brussels. The one thing they agree on is that the divorce accord that Theresa May could not get through Parliament will not be reopened.
Key Developments:
- Ireland says no backstop is as bad as no deal
- EU "unanimous" that Brexit deal can’t be reopened: Juncker
- Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt head into the final run-off for party leader
- Prime Minister Theresa May, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke at summit
- Tusk says Brexit might get more "exciting" with new PM
Tusk: U.K. Is Wasting Time (12:55 p.m.)
In a huddle of reporters, including the BBC, on the way out of the summit in Brussels, Tusk was asked if he believed the U.K. was squandering the extra time it had been given to reach a Brexit settlement. "Yes I’m afraid you are wasting time," he said. Tusk said he did not like the fact but understood the political reality in London.
Tories Face By-Election (12:53 p.m.)
The Conservatives face a by-election in Wales, after constituents in Brecon and Radnorshire signed a recall petition” for the incumbent Conservative MP Chris Davies who was convicted over a false expenses claim.
The seat was held by the Liberal Democrats until 2015, who then came second in the 2017 election. Losing the seat could present another challenge for the next Tory prime minister when he tries to get his Brexit plans approved by Parliament, given the already tricky mathematics.
Merkel Says Deal is Done (12:50 p.m.)
Germany’s Angela Merkel said the divorce deal can’t be re-opened but talks would resume once the new prime minister is chosen.
"We’re of course ready to continue working together with the newly elected British prime minister after the election that’s taking place in Great Britain," and talks will be resumed then, she said. "But we also highlighted once again that from our point of view, the withdrawal agreement is finalized."
Tusk: Brexit May Become More Exciting (12:30 p.m.)
A new British prime minister might make Brexit more "exciting," European Council President Donald Tusk said. But the front-runner Boris Johnson’s hopes of overhauling the terms of the divorce will be dashed, because the European Union will not reopen the negotiations.
"Maybe the process of Brexit will be even more exciting than before because of some personnel decisions in London," Tusk told a press conference at the end of the leaders’ summit in Brussels. "But nothing has changed when it comes to our position."
Tusk said the EU was waiting for decisions in Britain and new proposals from the next British leader. He distanced himself from warnings on Thursday from Irish premier Leo Varadkar, who said the EU was fast running out of patience with the U.K. and that there was hostility to another delay to the scheduled exit day. Tusk said the EU had to be patient.
Slovakia PM Says EU Would Extend Again (1:05 p.m.)
Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said the EU would probably delay Brexit again if the U.K. asked for an extension.
"If they will ask us to extend, probably we will do that because it is always better for the U.K. to stay in the EU than not," he said after the summit.
He hinted at concerns about May’s successor. Front-runner Boris Johnson is vying with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a run-off ballot of party members.
"I would like not to comment on his signals that he is sending toward the European Union but I think it could be more difficult than it is now," he said.
EU Leaders Unanimous That Deal Can’t Be Opened (12 p.m.)
EU leaders agreed unanimously that there will be no renegotiation of the Brexit deal, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters.
Donald Tusk, the president of the EU Council, said the bloc is looking forward to working with the new prime minister of the U.K.
Carney Disputes Johnson Stance on Tariffs (9:20 a.m.)
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the U.K. can’t avoid tariffs with the European Union if it leaves the bloc without an agreement, refuting a position defended by Boris Johnson.
During Tuesday’s televised Conservative leadership debate, Johnson referenced an idea that’s popular among ardent Brexiteers -- that Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the precursor agreement to the World Trade Organization, offers a way to avoid tariffs and border restrictions in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
“There will be no tariffs, there will be no quotas because what we want to do is to get a standstill in our current arrangements under GATT 24, or whatever it happens to be, until such a time as we have negotiated” a free-trade agreement, Johnson said.
But the idea is widely disputed; the U.K.’s pro-Brexit International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has said the article wouldn’t apply in Britain’s case because it requires, at the very least, the EU to agree to it. Any WTO member could also object to such an arrangement and demand it be modified.
“We should be clear that not having an agreement with the European Union means that there are tariffs, automatically,” Carney told BBC Radio on Friday. “The Europeans have to apply the same rules to us as they apply to everyone else.”
Ireland Says No Backstop as Bad as No-Deal (9:05 a.m.)
As the Tory candidates pledge to renegotiate the controversial measure in the Brexit deal known as the Irish backstop, Ireland is standing firm -- and supported by the rest of the bloc.
Ireland’s Europe Minister Helen McEntee made clear her country won’t countenance changes that weaken the measure, which is designed to prevent a hard border emerging on the island of Ireland as a result of Brexit.
“A deal without a backstop, a deal with a time-limited backstop might as well be no deal,” she said on RTE radio.
Bettel Says Brexit Deal Can’t Be Reopened (9 a.m.)
The EU won’t renegotiate the Brexit deal, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told reporters on his way into the second day of a summit.
"It’s the best possible deal," he said, repeating the leaders’ mantra of recent months.
Any further delay to Brexit beyond October would require a good reason, he said.
Earlier:
--With assistance from Tim Ross, Viktoria Dendrinou, Katharina Rosskopf, Peter Flanagan, Richard Bravo, Fergal O'Brien, Nikos Chrysoloras, Slav Okov, Stuart Biggs, Alexander Weber and Jessica Shankleman.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Brussels at lpronina@bloomberg.net;Tim Ross in Brussels at tross54@bloomberg.net;Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at sbodoni@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma Ross-Thomas at erossthomas@bloomberg.net, ;Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo
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