Theresa May says it's time to 'get on with Brexit' - and it could be triggered next WEEK
THE time has come to crack on with leaving the EU, Theresa May declared last night. It is thought she could trigger exit talks as early as next Tuesday.
Speaking at her last EU summit before she is due to activate the departure process, the Prime Minister said Britain was on the brink of a “defining moment” and ready to “forge a new role in the world”.
She also signalled her determination to resist any attempt by Brussels to hit the UK with a swingeing “divorce” bill of up to £52billion as a punishment for voting to leave.
Her remarks came as ministers prepared to bring the parliamentary wrangle over Brexit between MPs and peers to an end on Monday.
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Mrs May is due to make a statement to the Commons about yesterday’s summit the next day, raising expectations that she could use the occasion to activate the EU’s Article 50 exit clause.
Our European partners have made clear to me they want to get on with the negotiation and so do I
Mrs May spoke of her desire to step up the pace of the departure process at a news conference during a break in the Brussels summit yesterday.
“Our European partners have made clear to me they want to get on with the negotiation and so do I,” she said.
“It’s time to get on with leaving the European Union and building the independent, self-governing, global Britain the British people have called for. And so, I have said, we will trigger Article 50 by the end of this month.
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“This will be a defining moment for the UK as we begin the process of forging a new role for ourselves in the world as a strong country with control over our borders and our laws.”
She also pledged that a new global Britain “will stand tall in the world”. And she backed up a call from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for her to show the fighting spirit of her predecessor Margaret Thatcher in facing down “unreasonable” cash demands from Brussels.
“Let me be very clear – there is only ever one Margaret Thatcher,” she said. “But when people voted on June 23 for us to leave the European Union, they voted for us to not pay huge sums of money into the EU every year – and of course when we leave the EU that will be the case.”
Earlier Mr Johnson was shown calling on her to follow the Iron Lady’s example in a BBC documentary.
Asked about the EU demands, he said: “I think we have illustrious precedent in this matter.
I think you can recall the 1984 Fontainebleau summit in which Mrs Thatcher said she wanted her money back. And I think that is exactly what we will get.”
Mr Johnson added: “It is not reasonable, I don’t think, for the UK having left the EU to continue to make vast budget payments. I think everybody understands that.”
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The EU is expected to demand the UK cough up for what Brussels officials believe are outstanding payments.
But they have not factored in that Britain owns 11 per cent of all the bloc’s assets worth billions.
The demands are set to include a desire for the UK to continue contributing to the EU budget until the end of 2020, along with outstanding pension liabilities and loan guarantees.
Irish premier Enda Kenny yesterday indicated his support for plans to hit Britain with a big exit bill.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived at the summit, Mr Kenny said: “When you sign on for a contract you commit yourself to participation. Obviously the extent of that level of money will be determined. It’s a problem that will have to be dealt with and it will be dealt with.”
At the summit, Mrs May also pressed other EU leaders to try to stop another migration crisis spreading across the Mediterranean over the coming months.
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She said they needed to do more to distinguish between refugees and economic migrants simply seeking a better life in Europe. And she said the EU should recognise that “countries have a right to control their borders”.
At her news conference, the Prime Minister said: “I’ve made clear we must do more to tackle the vile people-smuggling rings who profit from the migrants’ misery.
“We need a managed, controlled and truly global approach. We need to help ensure refugees claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and help those countries support the refugees so they don’t have to make the perilous journey to Europe.
“And we need a better overall approach to managing economic migration, one which recognises that all countries have the right to control their borders.”
The summit began with a botched attempt to oust the EU Council’s Polish president Donald Tusk – by his own country’s prime minister, Beata Szydlo, who has accused him of meddling in Poland’s politics.