The European Union’s top negotiator Michel Barnier has refused to budge over his insistence Britain must first pay its Brexit divorce bill before trade deals can be discussed.
Saying “sufficient progress” still needed to be made, he also threatened to delay trade talks unless a deal can be achieved over cities’ rights and Northern Ireland.
But the British PM seems to have had enough of the EU’s stalling and it is now believed she is looking to deal directly with Ms Merkel and Emmanuel Macron instead.
It is hoped Mrs May will be able to get them to force Mr Barnier and Jean-Claude Juncker into a climbdown so the UK can get started on agreeing a trade deal sooner.q
Mrs May’s official spokesman refused to rule out the prospect of the Prime Minister going on a round of “shuttle-diplomacy” to European capitals in an attempt to get round Brussels’ refusals.
A Whitehall source told the Times that individual member states had a more sympathetic view of the British position – and may be more likely to help shift Mr Barnier’s stubborn opinion.
They said: “Mr Juncker says it’s ‘crystal clear’ that we can’t talk about the future relationship before solving divorce issues, but this is a decision to be taken by the EU 27, not the commission.
“Some heads of state say it’s ‘common sense’ to have a discussion about both.”
The comments come after Mr macron reportedly suggested he wants to get on with trade talks as soon as next month.
Senior French diplomats have even outlined a proposal encouraging the UK to request a three-year transitional deal if it agrees to continue paying into the EU Budget and accepting EU law.
The Department for Exiting the EU this month published position papers on citizens’ rights and the Irish border but has so far offered no formal proposals on the divorce bill.
But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the papers as “not satisfactory” – adding an “enormous amount of issues” must be resolved, predominantly the size of the divorce bill.
But fresh rounds of talks this week seem to have got off to a rocky start, prompting Theresa May and her cabinet to find new options to get around Brussels.
But Mrs May has urged the European Union stick to a deadline to begin talking about its future relationship with the UK by October.
Mrs May’s spokeswoman told reporters: “We believe we’re in a good position and we would like to move on to discuss our future relationship.
“As David Davis has said we believe that we need the EU to show some more imagination and flexibility when it comes to these discussions… we are seeking to agree by October Council that we can move to talk about our future relationship.