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May discusses Brexit at EU summit amid scepticism over Trump visit May calls for caution over migration 'pull factors' at EU summit
(about 1 hour later)
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. Theresa May has told her fellow EU leaders that Europe should not “inadvertently increase the pull factors” for migrants and refugees seeking to cross the Mediterranean, at a summit in Malta where she will also discuss her meeting 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. May is likely to face a somewhat sceptical audience in the talks about the new US president, with her enthusiasm for seeking close ties with his administration seemingly not shared by other leaders.
With a meeting scheduled with Angela Merkel after lunch, May had talks in the morning with the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and Christian Kern, the Austrian chancellor. Several expressed concerns about Trump upon arriving in Valletta, with France’s François Hollande calling Trump’s predictions that the EU could break up “unacceptable”.
The summit is officially focused on the Mediterranean migration crisis. In the three months to the end of January 1,354 migrants and refugees drowned trying to reach Europe, the highest number for such a period.
A day after the government published its Brexit white paper, EU leaders will also be looking to the prime minister for reassurance that the UK will not drop international cooperation after it leaves the bloc.
At the morning session of the summit, May said the EU should seek to replicate the example of assistance to Turkey in keeping refugees and migrants from Syria and other nations nearer their homes, and offer particular support to Libya, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
May called for efforts to improve conditions for migrants, support for assisted return and the introduction of tougher penalties for traffickers.
The spokeswoman said: “Second, she said that in all we do we must be careful not to inadvertently increase the pull factors encouraging people to risk their lives to reach Europe.”
May “said that we have played a central part in tackling this crisis and the EU can count on us to remain a reliable partner”, the spokeswoman added.
After the morning session May joined the other leaders for a guided walkabout of Valletta’s historic centre, where she spent much of the first section walking with Angela Merkel, immersed in conversation.
May did not answer questions from journalists, but smiled and waved at British tourists who shouted greetings as she went past.
May was among the few leaders not to speak to the media as she arrived at the summit, 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.
May had talks in the morning 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.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 to keep strong future relations with the UK after Brexit, the source said.
May is also due to brief European leaders in Valletta about her 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 European leaders in Valletta about her 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’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. 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 where at one pointMay was pictured standing alone as they chatted around her.
The French president, François Hollande, called Trump’s stance towards the EU – he has predicted its breakup – “unacceptable”. When May leaves Valletta after 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.
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. The summit comes amid a busy period of international meetings for May. After last week’s high-profile 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.
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. In a letter this week to EU leaders, Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, said the treaty 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.”
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.
When May leaves after 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 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.
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.”
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.
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.”