British Prime Minister Challenged at her First EU Summit

Recently elected British Prime Minister Theresa May attended her first Summit of the European Union in Brussels on October 20, where 28 heads of state met to discuss the Canadian-EU trade deal called CETA, the humanitarian crisis in Syria, and the future of Brexit. Brexit, or the separation of the United Kingdom from the EU, was pushed to the back of the agenda among growing reports of hostility by EU members towards Great Britain. In fact, May was allotted only five minutes to update European leaders about Brexit after a working dinner at one o’clock in the morning.

When asked what he thought about the Prime Minister’s speech, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker apparently scoffed and then clarified dismissively that “we had no special event with Theresa May yesterday.”  

Adding to the tension between EU leaders and the UK, rumors are circulating that the EU representative set to negotiate Brexit, French national and Vice President of the European People’s Party Michel Barnier, suggested that May should speak in French during Brexit discussions. Though Barnier took to his Twitter account to dispel such allegations, May countered by asking for a “mature, cooperative approach” to negotiations. However, May also promised the European Union that she “will conduct the negotiations in the way that means we are going to get the right deal for Britain.”

When asked about Britain’s role in the EU since the Brexit vote on June 23, Member of European Parliament Manfred Weber told the BBC on October 21 that “it’s not really normal that such a member who wants to leave a club wants to decide the future of this club. That is really creating a lot of anger.” May, however, seems to be ignoring these remarks and held a press conference on the same day in which she emphasized that Britain will remain a full and active member of the EU until negotiations for its exit begin in March.  

Although many analyses have declared the summit inconclusive on matters ranging from the Brexit to European relationships with Russia, it is now apparent that Theresa May will continue to fight for Britain’s active participation in the EU in the short run.