The last time Theresa May met with EU leaders en masse, she was caught on camera being shunned by her European counterparts. At today’s Malta EU summit, the Prime Minister managed to avoid any lonesome moments. On the walkabout she was seen with Angela Merkel, but then a planned bilateral meeting between the two was cancelled on the grounds that they discussed all they need to discuss.
The Prime Minister struggled when it came to selling her new friend President Trump to the 27 EU leaders. Asked if May could act as a ‘bridge’ between the EU and Trump’s administration, Francois Hollande rebuffed the suggestion: ‘It is not about asking one particular country, be it the UK or any other, to represent Europe in its relationship with the United States.’ The French president warned that there would be no future for Europe’s relations with the US ‘if this future isn’t defined in common’. While Angela Merkel said they would try to ‘explore where there are common interests’, Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Lithuanian president, was less restrained and declared there was no ‘necessity for a bridge’ given that they could all just communicate with Americans on Twitter.
The attitude of EU leaders towards Trump is hardly surprising. He has been far more hostile to the EU than many had expected. In a sign that the feeling is mutual, the European Parliament’s main political parties have written to the European Council to say that Ted Malloch, Trump’s likely choice of ambassador to the EU, should not be accredited as an official representative. However, it’s worth noting that several EU leaders have attempted to forge a positive relationship with Trump similar to May’s, with varying success. Last month, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that an offer from Angela Merkel’s team for her to travel to the US at short notice to meet the new president didn’t receive a reply.
There was some good news for May. When it comes to EU nationals, the Prime Minister appeared to make positive progress. Spain’s prime minister agreed that there ought to be an early deal in the official negotiations to secure expats’ rights. No 10 will hope that this will stave off a Tory rebellion on the issue when the Brexit bill comes back to the House next week.
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