This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/03/theresa-may-discuss-trump-visit-brexit-eu-migration-summit

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
May to discuss Trump visit and Brexit at EU migration summit May discusses Brexit at EU summit amid scepticism over Trump visit
(about 1 hour later)
Theresa May has arrived at an EU summit in Malta where European leaders led by Angela Merkel will seek reassurance over Brexit and a briefing on Donald Trump. Theresa May has begun updating European leaders on her plans for Brexit at an EU summit in Malta, where she is also likely to face a somewhat sceptical audience as she briefs them about her meeting last week with Donald Trump.
The summit is officially focused on helping to tackle the Mediterranean migration crisis. But a day after the government revealed its most detailed plans yet for leaving the EU, in the form a 77-page white paper, fellow leaders will be looking to the prime minister for reassurance that the UK will not drop international cooperation in after Brexit.The summit is officially focused on helping to tackle the Mediterranean migration crisis. But a day after the government revealed its most detailed plans yet for leaving the EU, in the form a 77-page white paper, fellow leaders will be looking to the prime minister for reassurance that the UK will not drop international cooperation in after Brexit.
With a meeting scheduled with Angela Merkel after lunch, May had talks in the morning with with the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and Christian Kern, the Austrian chancellor.
May “reiterated our desire to have a strong partnership with the EU in future, including cooperation on trade, security and home affairs”, a Downing Street source said after the talks.
According to No 10’s account of the meeting, Rajoy welcomed May’s speech last week on her Brexit priorities, saying it had clarified matters. Both he and Kern emphasised the need for the UK to keep strong future relations with the UK after Brexit, the source said.
May is also due to brief her fellow European leaders in Valletta about last week’s visit to Washington to see Trump, and what May says is the US president’s renewed commitment to Nato. She is expected to stress the need for other Nato members to meet the commitment of spending 2% of their GDP on defence, “so that the burden is more fairly shared”.May is also due to brief her fellow European leaders in Valletta about last week’s visit to Washington to see Trump, and what May says is the US president’s renewed commitment to Nato. She is expected to stress the need for other Nato members to meet the commitment of spending 2% of their GDP on defence, “so that the burden is more fairly shared”.
The morning session is officially devoted to tackling the number of migrants and refugees seeking to enter Europe via the Mediterranean and Libya. May will promise the UK will “remain a reliable partner” over such efforts even after departing the bloc. May’s enthusiasm for seeking close ties with the Trump administration appears to be not shared by many fellow EU leaders, some of whom expressed concern on arriving in Valletta at the US president’s actions.
Also in the morning she is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and Christian Kern, the Austrian chancellor, as well as a brief chat with the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat. The French president, François Hollande, called Trump’s stance towards the EU – he has predicted its breakup – “ unacceptable”.
May was among the few leaders to not speak to the media as she arrived, and unlike most of them she is not scheduled to hold a press conference before she leaves early.
Likely to be the most significant event of the day for May will be talks with Merkel after lunch, at which the pair are likely to discuss their differing views of Trump – the German chancellor has been notably less effusive about the new US administration – and the prognosis for Brexit.Likely to be the most significant event of the day for May will be talks with Merkel after lunch, at which the pair are likely to discuss their differing views of Trump – the German chancellor has been notably less effusive about the new US administration – and the prognosis for Brexit.
The summit, held at the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, will be May’s first encounter with the other EU leaders since a meeting in Bratislava in December, during which at one pointMay was pictured standing alone as they chatted around her.The summit, held at the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, will be May’s first encounter with the other EU leaders since a meeting in Bratislava in December, during which at one pointMay was pictured standing alone as they chatted around her.
May is expected to leave after her talks with Merkel. The remaining 27 EU leaders will stay to discuss how Brexit can be handled, and preparations for next month’s 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which set up the EU’s precursor, the European Economic Community. After May leaves following the lunch, the remaining 27 EU leaders will stay to discuss how Brexit can be handled, and preparations for next month’s 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which set up the EU’s precursor, the European Economic Community.
The talks about migration will focus on the continued crisis in the Mediterranean, where UN figures says 1,354 migrants and refugees drowned trying to reach Europe in the three months to the end of January, the highest number for such a period. The morning session of the summit is devoted to tackling the number of migrants and refugees seeking to enter Europe via the Mediterranean and Libya.
According to to UN figures, 1,354 migrants and refugees drowned trying to reach Europe in the three months to the end of January, the highest number for such a period.
The agenda is directed at trying to stop people smugglers, and seeking ways the EU can better cooperate with the authorities in Libya, a major exit point for those seeking to enter Europe.The agenda is directed at trying to stop people smugglers, and seeking ways the EU can better cooperate with the authorities in Libya, a major exit point for those seeking to enter Europe.
A Downing Street statement released before the meeting said May would “stress that migration has been one of her political priorities during her time in government – and remains so”.A Downing Street statement released before the meeting said May would “stress that migration has been one of her political priorities during her time in government – and remains so”.
It added: “She will say that the UK has played a central part in tackling this crisis – and will remain a reliable partner.”It added: “She will say that the UK has played a central part in tackling this crisis – and will remain a reliable partner.”
The prime minister’s spokeswoman said May wanted to keep strong EU links after Brexit. “We are very clear we want to see a strong and successful EU, now and into the future, that we can have a mature and constructive partnership,” she said.
The summit comes amid a busy period of international meetings for May. After last week’s high-profile and controversial visit to Washington to see Trump, she held talks in Ankara with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.The summit comes amid a busy period of international meetings for May. After last week’s high-profile and controversial visit to Washington to see Trump, she held talks in Ankara with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On Monday, she is due to host the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at Downing Street.On Monday, she is due to host the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at Downing Street.
In a letter this week to EU leaders, Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, who will chair the talks, said the anniversary would be a chance to “strongly reiterate these two basic, yet forgotten, truths: firstly, we have united in order to avoid another historic catastrophe, and secondly, that the times of European unity have been the best times in all of Europe’s centuries-long history”.In a letter this week to EU leaders, Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, who will chair the talks, said the anniversary would be a chance to “strongly reiterate these two basic, yet forgotten, truths: firstly, we have united in order to avoid another historic catastrophe, and secondly, that the times of European unity have been the best times in all of Europe’s centuries-long history”.
He added: “It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent.”He added: “It must be made crystal clear that the disintegration of the European Union will not lead to the restoration of some mythical, full sovereignty of its member states, but to their real and factual dependence on the great superpowers: the United States, Russia and China. Only together can we be fully independent.”