'IS HE STABLE?' EU boss Juncker's epic rant over David Davis and Brexit REVEALED
BRUSSELS boss Jean-Claude Juncker questioned Brexit secretary David Davis’ “stability and accountability” in an epic behind closed doors rant, an explosive dossier reveals today.
Barnier: 'UK is leaving EU not the other way around'
A dynamite set of minutes, published by the EU Commission today, reveals serious concerns amongst EU officials Mr Davis’ suitability to fulfil his role as chief UK negotiator.
Mr Juncker said that his alleged detachment from the talks and blasé attitude “risked jeapordising the success of the negotiations” in a stinging broadside likely to infuriate Downing Street.
And the EU’s top negotiator, Frenchman Michel Barnier, raised similar concerns saying that he anticipated “difficulties that might be caused by any potential absence of the chief negotiator on the British side”.
An EU Commission spokeswoman said the talks have moved on and the minutes gave a "snapshot of July", adding: "We stand ready to engage 24/7 with the UK negotiator and his team in order to make swift progress."
But the revelations, contained in the minutes of a College of Commissioners’ meeting held on July 12, will prove hugely damaging to the reputation of both Mr Davis and the UK Government.
But they will also raise questions about ulterior motives in Brussels, with eurocrats having already enraged the British side by leaking details of a private dinner between Mr Juncker and Theresa May earlier this year.
Unlike in that instance this document is not a leak, but an official publication which EU officials say is in line with their commitment to “full transparency” during the talks.
The dossier casts the first real light on the tone of discussions between top EU figures behind closed doors, and delivers a sense of their real scepticism about Britain’s readiness for the talks.
Publishing such a personal attack on the professionalism of the UK’s chief negotiator is also bound to stoke up tensions even further, coming just days after an openly antagonistic press conference between the two sides.
The minutes state: “Winding up the discussion, the President [Mr Juncker] expressed his concern about the question of the stability and accountability of the UK negotiator and his apparent lack of involvement, which risked jeopardising the success of the negotiations.
“He invited Mr Barnier to remain firm on this point and not to accept discussions at the purely technical level with negotiators who had no political mandate, while fundamental political questions still remained.”
David Davis: EU will be worse off if no UK trade deal
The President expressed his concern about the question of the stability and accountability of the UK negotiator
By stability it is believed that Mr Juncker was referring to Mr Davis’ political position within the Cabinet, and the backing he is receiving from fellow members, rather than his personal character.
It was also possibly a passing reference to the political backdrop in the UK, where Theresa May had recently lost her majority after the decision to hold a snap election had recently spectacularly backfired.
However, the fact that Mr Barnier also questioned the “potential absence” of Mr Davis suggests Brussels is concerned that he is spending too much time dedicated to UK politics, rather than the negotiations.
It is recorded that: “Mr Barnier…highlighted the difficulties that might be caused by any potential absence of the chief negotiator on the British side, since this risked jeopardising the negotiations by multiplying the number of negotiators.”
Elsewhere “Mr Barnier felt…that the hardest tasks still lay ahead. He observed that the United Kingdom had not yet really engaged in the negotiations or spelled out its positions.
“He noted in this regard that David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, did not regard his direct involvement in these negotiations as his priority and there was also a possibility that he might not be present at the full opening session of the July cycle of talks.”
The minutes, although published today, are for a meeting which took place several months ago and the state of the negotiations has moved on with further negotiation rounds since then.
However, EU officials report there has been little real progress due to the British side’s reluctance to engage on key issues, in particular the thorny question of a Brexit divorce bill.
A spokeswoman for the EU Commission said: "We’ve clearly moved on since July. I have nothing to interpret on the minutes which are in full transparency that give you a picture that was in July. Since then we’ve continued stressing that we stand ready to engage 24/7 with the UK negotiator and his team in order to make swift progress."
The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) has been approached for comment.