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There was a meeting of the EU 27 - that is, all but the UK - last Friday, February 23, in Brussels. That summit was mainly about the EU budget. The UK and Brexit were, however, clearly on the minds of EU leaders, notably
Jean-Claude Juncker and
Donald Tusk, both of whom found themselves commenting on developments outside London the day before.
Chequers
Photograph by Stephen Simpson, public domain.
On Thursday, February 22, Prime Minister
Theresa May and ten of the most senior members of her cabinet - the so called Brexit war cabinet - met at Chequers, the prime minister's country house, with the goal of thrashing out an agreed Brexit strategy. In addition to Prime Minister May, the participating cabinet members were:
Philip Hammond - Chancellor
Amber Rudd - Home Secretary
Boris Johnson - Foreign Secretary
Davis Davis - Brexit Secretary
Liam Fox - International Trade Secretary
Greg Clark - Business Secretary
David Lidington - Cabinet Office Minister
Gavin Williamson - Defence Secretary
Michael Gove - Environment Secretary
Karen Bradley - Northern Ireland Secretary
Reportedly, they did reach an agreement, and reportedly Prime Minister May will explain what was decided in a speech this Friday, March 2. The press reports that followed that meeting talked about "divergence," the idea that, after Brexit, the UK might still be aligned with the European Union with respect to some regulations but not with others.
It was those press reports to which Mr. Tusk in particular was responding. In fairness it should be pointed out that the settings for the remarks quoted above were quite different. Donald Tusk was making a statement from a lectern. Jean Claude Juncker was offering a lighthearted quip at the conclusion of a hallway interview. Here in reverse order is a bit more from each of their remarks.
Statement by Donald Tusk:
If the media reports are correct, I am afraid that the UK position, today, is based on pure illusion. It looks like the cake philosophy is still alive. From the very start it has been a key principle of the EU 27 that there can be no cherry picking and no single market à la carte. Today I have also informed the leaders that I will present a draft guideline on the future EU-UK relationship at the March summit. Our intention is to adopt these guidelines, whether the UK is ready with its vision of our future relations or not. Naturally, it would be much better if it were, but we cannot stand by and wait. I hope to have some more clarity about the UK's plans next week, when I meet Prime Minister May in London.
From the Interview with Jean-Claude Juncker:
QUESTION: And on Brexit, the British cabinet has agreed an approach. We don't know what it is yet, but they're talking about the ability to diverge from EU rules in future. What would that mean?
MR. JUNCKER: I know that there was a meeting with Theresa May yesterday [February 22] in Chequers as far as I know. I haven't seen the results; so I can't comment on that.
QUESTION: Any thoughts on what you hope to get out of it?
MR. JUNCKER: I am commenting [on] the outcome of [the] Chequers meeting when I know what is the exact conclusion of that.
QUESTION: And when do you expect to get that, sir?
MR. JUNCKER: I am not a British prime minister. It would be good for Britain if I was, but I'm not.
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