By Ben Kerrigan-
Theresa May’s declaration that European Union leaders threatening Britain “will sign up to a deal with Britain is unwise.
The U.K Prime Minister hit out at EU leaders on Monday, following provocative claims they will make Brexit “very painful” for Britain to ensure the UK is worse off outside the bloc.
A number of EU nations have callously threatened Britain’s Brexit deal unless their citizens are given full access to live and work in the UK. The terms of Brexit means this won’t happen , and May’s outright declaration that the 27 countries will do a deal with us, may be challenging EU leaders to prove her wrong.
EU president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has been very defiant and confrontational in his rhetoric concerning Britain and Brexit, but Mrs May’s brash dismissal of his comments may actually stoke the flames of opposition more than realises, and said the 27 other EU members will sign up to “the deal that’s right for the UK”.
Addressing the warnings made by EU leaders , Mrs May confidently said: “The 27 will sign up to a deal with us.
“We will be negotiating with them and we will be ambitious in what we want to see for the United Kingdom.
“It’s right for us to do that. But I think a good deal for the UK can also be a good deal for the other member states because I believe in good trading relations and I want the UK to be a global leader in free trade.”
The Prime Minister added: “I had very constructive meetings with [Mr Fico] when I was doing my visits earlier in the summer.
“We’re going to be in a negotiation with the 27 members of the European Union about the relationship we will have with them when we leave the EU.
“I’ve said what I want to see is the deal that’s right for the UK. I think that will also be a deal that’s good for the member states of the European Union.
“This is not just about us – it’s actually about relationships and trading within that European arena. So we will go into these negotiations and we will be ambitious for the UK.” Ambitious plans for the UK is all good, but it is questionable whether May’s approach is the safe way forward in the midst of such tension surrounding the Brexit issue.
May has a huge challenge no prime minister before her has ever faced. It’s an unenviable task dealing with bitter and vindictive EU leaders, still sore over the Brexit referendum, and harsh and controversial words uttered in the build up to the historic vote.
Mrs May on Monday night met some of America’s most powerful business leaders amid concerns that they could be preparing to move their European bases out of the UK in the wake of the Brexit vote. The questionable choice of Boris Johnson as
foreign Secretary is also a hurdle to be climbed. Many EU leaders still feel bitter about his approach to the referendum, many accusing him of telling outright lies in order to clinch the deal.
Yet, he is the man in charge with handling a lot of the negotiations. Johnson charmed an audience in Paris a few months back when he displayed his grasp of French, but how far that will take him in easing the tensions and undoing the hard feelings, is a completely different matter.