European ambassadors dismissed as “unnecessary and unhelpful threats” the warning by Theresa May yesterday that any attempt to punish Britain for Brexit would be a “calamitous act of self-harm”.
One ambassador, who welcomed much of Mrs May’s speech for giving clarity to her plans, said the “threatening” remarks had “undermined any other sense of optimism” that the prime minister was seeking to project.
“The threats were not necessary. I would have omitted those,” the ambassador said. “If you start a negotiation and the 27 take a punitive approach, then you could raise that then.”
There was further dismay over Mrs May’s suggestion that Britain could become a low-regulation tax haven if Brussels fails to deliver a good deal. One ambassador called it “blackmail” while another dismissed it as “a bluff”.
“This threat of fiscal dumping was previously an off-the-cuff comment,” the first ambassador said. “Now it’s official. She’s saying you must sit down and do a deal, or else.”
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This view was echoed by Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit negotiator. “Threatening to turn the UK into a deregulated tax haven will not only hurt British people — it is a counterproductive negotiating tactic,” he said. Another ambassador said there was widespread resentment over the suggestion that Europe would seek to punish Britain for Brexit. “If you take some measure to ensure the survival of the union, is this punishing or is it self-preservation?” he asked.
However, in Brussels and beyond, Mrs May was praised for a “more realistic” approach to Brexit than had previously been apparent.
“Sad process, surrealistic times but at least more realistic announcement on Brexit,” Donald Tusk, president of the European Council tweeted. “EU27 united and ready to negotiate after Article 50.”
Sigmar Gabriel, the German vice-chancellor, said: “It’s good that there is finally now a bit more clarity about Britain’s direction. It’s also clear that there won’t be any cherry picking. Anyone who wants access to the common market has to also be part of the political union.”
Alain Lamassoure, a French MEP from the centre-right Republicans party, said that Britain’s decision to leave the single market was “business suicide”. “Incomprehensible because the United Kingdom is sinking itself,” he told France Info radio. “It’s a kind of economic and business suicide that makes it hard to understand what is going on over the other side of the Channel.”
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Mrs May was praised for distancing herself from Donald Trump’s “surreal” remarks welcoming the prospect of the EU falling apart.
“It was a sensible voice on cooperation,” Norbert Röttgen, a senior MP in Angela Merkel’s party and chairman of the Bundestag foreign affairs committee, said. “It was really the opposite of Trump and this was the good news that we heard today.”
London-based diplomats said that the speech still gave few clues as to how negotiations would pan out. “Every one of these points raises more questions than it answers,” one said.
Some were left baffled by the speech. One ambassador described her position on possibly retaining some elements of the customs union as “impossible”. “It doesn’t work like that,” he said. “You’re either in or out.”
Mr Röttgen said that “in a way Britain remains at the same point as it was the day after the referendum after it determined to go out without knowing how to do it.”
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Mrs May is not expected to reveal more of her strategy before triggering Article 50, which she has pledged to do by the end of March.
Michel Barnier, the former French foreign minister and commissioner, who will be the EU’s lead negotiator, said he was prepared to begin talks when Mrs May triggers Article 50. “Ready as soon as UK is. Only notification can kick off negotiations,” he said.