GERMANY - Germany has demanded Theresa May stop playing games and present “clear and precise proposals” before EU leaders offer her a Brexit delay. Michael Roth, the German European affairs minister, bemoaned the Prime Minister’s Brexit strategy ahead of a crunch summit on Thursday, during which she is expected to request an Article 50 extension. Mr Roth insisted the “clock is ticking and time is running out” for the British Government to table proposals as the country heads towards a no-deal Brexit in just 10 days.
He said Brussels is not ready to hold more “substance-less, very abstract discussions and negotiations on Brexit”. He then proceeded to beg Mrs May to deliver a concrete plan ahead of Thursday’s summit in the Belgian capital. On the fringes of a European affairs ministerial meeting, Mr Roth told reporters: “The clock is ticking and time is running out. We're really exhausted by these negotiations and I expect clear and precise proposals of the British Government why such an extension is necessary.”
“It's not just a game, it's an extremely serious situation not just for the people in the UK but also for the people in the EU and for my Government it's the key priority to prevent a no deal Brexit. I don't have any appetite for substance-less, very abstract discussions and negotiations on Brexit. Please deliver, dear friends in London please deliver the clock is ticking.”
Brussels is concerned that the bombshell move by Commons Speaker John Bercow to block the Prime Minister’s unchanged deal to MPs has only caused more uncertainty. George Ciamba, Romania’s EU affairs minister, said: “There is less clarity than there was yesterday. At the end of the day, be it the Speaker of the house, the Prime Minister, the Members of Parliament, it is about the political will and a little more clarity about what Europe can do because we know very well what Europe cannot do.”