European Union to reveal its Brexit negotiating approach today… The European Union’s approach to talks which will shape its future relationship with the UK is set to be laid out by European Council president Donald Tusk. Draft guidelines are expected to be circulated to EU leaders later today, before they are amended and approved at a summit in late April… Mr Tusk’s negotiation guidelines are expected to endorse the leaders’ insistence that Brexit terms – including the so-called “divorce bill” – must be settled before a new trade relationship can be discussed… On Thursday, Mr Tusk issued a thinly veiled warning to the UK not to try and play divide-and-rule with the other 27 member states as talks begin. – Sky News European Council insists on resolving Brexit divorce first – Politico European Council’s draft guidelines following the UK’s Article 50 notification – Full text via Politico Theresa May rejects fresh demand for Brexit divorce bill before Brussels trade talks begin – Daily Express Merkel and Hollande reject key UK demand on timing of negotiations – Sky News Hollande backs Merkel in snub to trade talks – The Times (£) Guy Verhofstadt wants Ukraine-style Article 217 deal for Brexit Britain – Daily Express Hostile EPP leader Manfred Weber MEP says ‘I don’t care’ about London any more – Politico EU leaders need to ditch the militant aggression act, and the sooner we crack on with Brexit talks, the better – The Sun says If Theresa May pays the EU £50 billion, the Brexit backlash will drown out the rest of her deal – Asa Bennett for the Daily Telegraph (£) …as UK moves to calm European nerves over post-Brexit security cooperation After language in the letter – which was delivered to the president of the European council, Donald Tusk – on Wednesday was interpreted to mean that security work could be undermined by a disadvantageous deal, Davis spent most of Wednesday afternoon on the phone to principal European capitals. He sought to reassure diplomats that it would be wrong to interpret the letter as a threat… Seeking to calm the row, Davis told the BBC: “We want a deal, and she was making the point that it’s bad for both of us if we don’t have a deal. Now that, I think, is a perfectly reasonable point to make and not in any sense a threat.” – The Guardian Theresa May triggers Article 50 with warning over security as EU leaders rule out key Brexit demand – Daily Telegraph (£) Guy Verhofstadt hits out at Theresa May over security deal ‘threat’ – Sky News Theresa May pens love notes to Europe setting out Britain’s hopes for a strong relationship in EU newspapers – The Sun UK’s superb spooks would never hold back info that would save lives, but EU chiefs must be reminded how we keep them safe as we start Brexit talks – Douglas Murray for The Sun Government sets out plans for the Great Repeal Bill to end the supremacy of EU law… Thousands of EU laws – from workers’ rights to food safety – are to be transferred onto the UK statute book in a Great Repeal Bill unveiled by the Government. Brexit Secretary David Davis told the House of Commons that the new legislation will provide “clarity and certainty” as the UK prepares to leave the European Union… The bill will repeal the European Communities Act 1972, which provides legal underpinning for Britain’s EU membership. It will also end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). – Sky News Government White Paper on the Great Repeal Bill – GOV.UK Great Repeal Bill will create sweeping powers to replace EU laws after Brexit, vows David Davis – Daily Telegraph Davis accused of power grab as he seeks free hand over EU law – The Times (£) Legal battles will rise after ‘copy and paste’ transfer statutes – The Times (£) The Great Repeal Bill explained – Daily Telegraph What you need to know about the Great Repeal Bill – The Times (£) The Great ‘Repeal’ Bill won’t repeal anything unless it includes sunset clauses – Julian Jessop for the Daily Telegraph (£) Now is not the time to cut the number of MPs – the Great Repeal Bill will require all hands on deck – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph (£) The Great Repeal Bill will bring both continuity and change – Richard Ekins for The Spectator Coffee House …as it announces it will be dropping the controversial EU Charter of Fundamental Rights Britain has begun to take back control from Brussels as David Davis announced that the first EU law to be scrapped after Brexit will be a charter that helps criminals avoid deportation. Revealing details of the forthcoming Great Repeal Bill, Mr Davis told MPs that the controversial EU Charter of Fundamental Rights will be dropped on the day Britain leaves Europe. MPs cheered in the House of Commons as the Brexit Secretary told them Britain would be regaining the sovereignty it last enjoyed in 1972. – Daily Telegraph Brexit Department clarifies David Davis comments about MPs geting a vote on Norway-style ‘soft’ Brexit The Brexit Secretary told MPs the issue of Britain’s membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) was “quite likely” to come to Parliament during the Brexit process. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are all members of the EEA – along with Britain and the 27 other members of the EU – allowing them to be part of the Single Market. EEA members have to accept the EU’s ‘four freedoms’, including free movement, in return for Single Market membership despite being outside the Brussels-based bloc… The Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) later corrected Mr Davis’s remarks and insisted they “do not envisage a vote” on Single Market membership – but failed to quell demands from pro-EU MPs. A DExEU spokesperson said: “We will not be a member of the Single Market or the EEA. Once we leave the EU, the EEA Agreement will no longer be relevant for the UK. It will have no practical effect. We therefore do not envisage a vote. We are considering what steps, if any, might need to be taken to formally terminate the EEA Agreement as a matter of international law. That is what the Secretary of State was referring to in the House and we will of course keep Parliament fully updated.” – Daily Express Nicola Sturgeon threatens to try and obstruct Great Repeal Bill Nicola Sturgeon has signalled she will try and derail the Great Repeal Bill by withholding her government’s consent for its plans to give Scotland powers repatriated from Brussels. The First Minister repeated her claim that Westminster was planning a “power grab” by refusing to hand over all responsibilities currently exercised by the EU in devolved policy areas such as fisheries and agriculture. Her official spokesman warned that unless every power in these areas was transferred, the SNP would refuse to pass a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) for the Bill… Although the UK Government could override Holyrood and press ahead nonetheless, this would provide more political ammunition in Ms Sturgeon’s campaign to whip up public support for a second independence referendum. – Daily Telegraph Do Scots really back Sturgeon over Brexit? The polls suggest not – John Curtice for The Guardian The UK can sign trade deals as long as they don’t come into force yet, says economist Andrew Lilico The UK can sign trade deals before quitting the EU without breaking a duty of “sincere cooperation”, a leading Brexiteer economist has claimed. Prime Minister Theresa May’s commitment to quitting Europe’s customs union means that the UK can begin talks with non-EU members, according to Andrew Lilico, executive director of Europe Economics. However, the UK must ensure that these deals do not come into effect until after it has formally exited the EU, Lilico said. Writing for BrexitCentral, the blog led by former Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliot, Lilico said it was “blatantly obvious” the EU should not be able to bar the EU from negotiating and ratifying post-Brexit trade deals. “There should be absolutely no question of the UK accepting that when it leaves the EU its only trade deal must be with the EU and that it must then start from scratch negotiating with other countries from outside,” Lilico said. – City A.M. >Andrew Lilico on BrexitCentral: The UK can legally sign new trade agreements before Brexit is complete Juncker threatens to promote Ohio and Texas independence after Trump’s Brexit backing European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday he would promote the independence of U.S. states if Donald Trump continues to encourage EU countries to follow the U.K.’s example and leave the bloc. At a meeting of leaders of the center-right European People’s Party in Malta, Juncker said Brexit would not be the end of the European Union — even if some people, such as Trump, would like that outcome. In response to White House claims that Trump was “a leader on Brexit,” Juncker declared: “If that continues, I’ll call for Ohio to be independent and Texas to leave the United States.” – Politico ‘Who is he?’ Texan radio caller ridicules Jean-Claude Juncker – Daily Express Jean-Claude Juncker threatens to promote the break-up of the USA – Freddy Gray for The Spectator Coffee House Polish MP complains about “obvious alcohol dependency” of Jean-Claude Juncker – Guido Fawkes The Telegraph: Brexit is a chance to set the wealth creators free Many voters would judge Brexit a waste of time if it resulted in a regulatory status quo. They voted to get out of the EU in order to cut red tape, not just to pin a Union Jack to it. Now is the time to start a review of regulations in order to prepare for a future bonfire… Business no more wants to be bound by British red tape than it does rules invented by the EU. The ultimate goal of this whole process should be to liberate the economy, to set the wealth creators free. – Daily Telegraph editorial John Longworth: The Government needs to crack on with lighting the great bonfire of EU red tape There will need to be a real determination on the part of the Government to push through meaningful change. Regulations, however burdensome, always have their fans, because there are always those who gain wealth or employment from them. This often includes large corporations – multinationals which have compliance departments and can both game the system and put up barriers to competition to their own advantage, but to the detriment of the nation. It also includes Whitehall, where regulation is bread and butter and the Sir Humphreys are adept at delay and obfuscation in their own interests. – John Longworth for the Daily Telegraph Allister Heath: Benefits of Brexit will outweigh the loss of a small number of City jobs All job losses, however tiny in number, are bad. So it must be regretted that Lloyd’s of London will be moving or recruiting “tens of workers” to its new Brussels subsidiary… Whatever the number of jobs lost, they will be a small fraction of the massive numbers bandied about by Project Fear. It is possible that, in the end, almost nobody at all moves: that will be contingent on the deal struck by the UK and EU…Will Brexit have costs as well as benefits? Of course. But the Government’s job now that the phony war is over is to maximise the latter and minimise the former. We should all hope that it succeeds. – Allister Heath for the Daily Telegraph (£) London will remain Europe’s financial capital despite Brexit – Nils Pratley for The Guardian Lloyd’s of London EU move shows the UK must win the battle for parallel Brexit talks – Caitlin Morrison for City A.M. Edgar Miller: Don’t worry about Brexit negotiations, no deal is better than what we have now with the EU We must deal with the myths surrounding what is misleadingly called the “WTO option”. It’s a misleading term because every option for the UK in its new trading arrangement will be a “WTO option”, given that the UK will take up its full (founding) membership of the WTO and will trade under its rules once we leave the Single Market… Many argue – driven by the entrenched interests of producers as the principal beneficiaries of protectionism – that unilateral free trade is politically complicated, or even “politically impossible”. However, this argument should be seen for what it is: the modern resurrection of the age old producer vs consumer debate that Cobden and Bright so notably turned on its head over the Corn Laws. This result set the British economy on a course of expansion for the better part of a century. – Edgar Miller for the Daily Telegraph (£) John Redwood: The Great Repeal Bill – the Bill all MPs have to support Some are now saying what is the point of leaving the EU if we keep all the EU laws. The point is once they are UK laws, we in the UK can decide to keep them, improve them or remove them. The UK government has reassured the Opposition that it has no wish or intention to repeal or dilute any of the employment protections that stem from EU law all the time it is in office. The government does, however, wish to introduce new border controls and benefit and migration policies, which is only possible once we have taken back control and transferred the EU border and benefits law into UK law. This will of course need UK primary legislation which will go through a full parliamentary process to change what we currently have. – John Redwood’s Diary Brexit comment in brief The resurgent global economy gives Brexit the following wind it needs – Jeremy Warner for the Daily Telegraph (£) Only young countries make bold moves – Matthew Elliott for City A.M. David Cameron ought to have stayed silent on EU – Daily Express editorial May moves Article 50 – and the BBC plunges into a period of national mourning – Iain Dale for ConservativeHome If you’re relying on Poland and Hungary to bring down the EU, you’re going to be disappointed – Matthew Day for the Daily Telegraph (£) It’s time May returned power to the people – Philip Collins for The Times (£) May’s Battle of Britain truly begins – Tom McTague and Charlie Cooper for Politico Watch out, David Davis – or the backbench Brexiteers will get you – Michael Deacon sketch for the Daily Telegraph (£) As Europe falters, Britain strides free – Marian L. Tupy for CapX Barnier: Europe’s Brexit not-so supremo – Politico Brexit news in brief Does Britain have to pay an EU exit bill? Or does the EU owe us money? – Daily Express Remainer MPs tell BBC to ‘stand firm’ after pro-Brexit Tories attack their ‘gloomy’ coverage – The Independent 7 key moments from Germany’s Brexit debate – Politico Failure to win deal with EU ‘would crash customs computers’ – The Times (£) Who is going where now Article 50 has been triggered? What’s been said so far and what’s likely still to come? – City A.M. Get on with creating new “moderate” party, says Tory Remainer Anna Soubry – The Times (£) Argentina uses Brexit to swoop on Falkland Islands – Daily Express Theresa May had cosy dinner with Boris Johnson to celebrate triggering Article 50 – The Times (£)