May hits back at EU, prompting sharp fall in pound
Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the European Union of disrespecting Britain, triggering a dramatic fall in the pound amidst fears that it made a no deal Brexit more likely.
In a statement at Downing Street Friday, May hit out at the way European Council president Donald Tusk discarded her Brexit plans without offering a detailed explanation or alternatives.
At a summit of EU leaders in Salzburg, Austria, Tusk unexpectedly declared that May’s proposals for Brexit “would not work.” He later mocked May's negotiating strategy on social media.
“I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it,” May said in a hastily arranged televised statement.
“At this late stage in the negotiations, it is not acceptable to simply reject the other side’s proposals without a detailed explanation and counter proposal,” she added.
She said that “we cannot make progress” unless the EU clarifies what “the real issues are and what their alternative is.”
Her remarks spooked the currency markets and caused sterling to fall 1.5% against the dollar, its biggest one day drop so far this year.
Prior to the meeting, May had hoped that she could gain a general approval of EU leaders for her Brexit strategy when they gather in Salzburg.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, however, that the EU expected Britain to compromise to respond in kind to Brussels’ concessions.
The EU and Britain seem to be locked in a dispute on how to avoid a hard border between EU member Ireland and the UK province of Northern Ireland. London is adamant that it could not allow the EU to move its customs frontier to the Irish Sea and separate Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.
The disagreement on Chequers comes as Brussels is quite aware that piling more pressure on May would weaken her position in the face of critics at home who prefer seeing Britain crash out of the EU without a deal.
How Cameron squirmed after being grilled on Israeli terrorism against Iran
London protests: Stop arming Israel
Former minister says UK should consider sending troops to Ukraine
UN warns hundreds of thousands of Sudanese under ‘immediate danger’
Iraqi resistance strikes ‘vital’ target in Eilat after Israel attacks PMU base
North Korea conducts cruise missile warhead test: State media
Israeli airstrike kills at least 7 people in Rafah
VIDEO | Iranians hold nationwide demos in support of IRGC
Syria condemns US veto of Palestine UN membership resolution
Iraqi resistance forces hit Israeli Ovda air base
Hackers break into Israeli military’s computers, access trove of documents
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
