Brexit: No EU Officials is going to Theresa May's big speech
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travelling to Florence to attend Theresa May’s
landmark speech on the future of Brexit
negotiations, in what appears to be a snub to the
Prime Minister.
The Independent understands that Brussels
officials and negotiators will be staying away
from the PM’s landmark address – despite chief
negotiator Michel Barnier already being in Italy the
day before to address local politicians.
In the audience instead will be Ms May’s own
cabinet ministers, including Boris Johnson, who
laid out his own conflicting vision for what Brexit
should look like in a 4,000-word Daily Telegraph
article published less than a week ago.
Others ministers in the audience will include Brexit
Secretary David Davis, Chancellor Philip
Hammond, and Home Secretary Amber Rudd read
The lack of attendance by EU ministers come a
week after Ms May was admonished by MEPs for
refusing to appear before a public meeting of the
European Parliament, amid further signs of
souring relations between the two negotiating
parties.
The Florence speech is expected to be the Prime
Minister biggest Brexit intervention since her
Lancaster House speech in January, where she
committed to leaving the single market. It is said
to include an “open and generous offer” to the EU,
according to one Cabinet minister who spoke to
the BBC.
The Prime Minister, who is flying in from a UN
meeting in New York, will speak to European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on
the telephone on Thursday afternoon ahead of the
speech, a European Commission spokesperson
however confirmed.
Reporters present at the UN while Ms May gave
an address there said she was speaking to a
room with large numbers of empty seats.
Florence's centre is a UNESCO protected site
The negotiator Mr Barnier is expected to respond
to the speech on Friday after its currently
mysterious contents become clear. A
Commission spokesperson, speaking in Brussels
on Thursday, said he would wait until the speech
had been delivered to comment on it.
The coming event in Florence is thought to be an
attempt by Ms May to break the deadlock in
Brexit negotiations, whose latest round was due to
be held this week until they were postponed so
they could be conducted after the latest speech.
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