[ad_1]
Mr Macron is planning to use next month’s summit of EU leaders in the Austrian city of Salzburg to outline a new vision for European alliances, based on a concept of “concentric circles” which place the EU in the centre and Britain in the next ring.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Macron warned the EU’s integrity must be put at risk by a withdrawal agreement with the UK.
However, diplomats said he was concerned about the damage a no-deal situation could do to important alliances between European nation states.
A diplomatic source told The Times: “He sees a no-deal scenario as something that would break links and poison relations at a time when Europe needs to be united beyond the EU.”
Mrs May famously visited Mr Macron at his holiday retreat at Fort Bregancon, an island once fortified by Napoleon, in an apparent bid to sell her Chequers plan for Britain’s relationship with the bloc after March 29.
Few details were forthcoming about what the two talked about, with a British official saying afterwards: “There will be no declaration afterwards. It’s just a routine working get-together.”
8am UPDATE: EU considers November Brexit special summit
THE EU is drawing up plans for a special Brexit summit in November, with growing indications that the original October deadline for a withdrawal agreement is likely to be missed.
Politico reports that the plans to schedule a crunch meeting specifically looking at Britain’s exit from the EU were driven by “necessity and timing”, especially given the fact that Theresa May’s predecessor as Prime Minister David Cameron was allocated a similar summit in 2014 which discussed the UK’s relationship with the bloc.
[ad_2]
