Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU leaders claim May’s citizen rights offer could ‘worsen situation’… European leaders have criticised the UK’s offer to EU nationals after Brexit – with one senior figure claiming it could “worsen the situation” for them. European Council President Donald Tusk said the plan was “below expectations” while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there had been “no breakthrough”. Theresa May conceded there were differences between the two sides. But the prime minister said those who had “made their lives and homes” in the UK would have their rights guaranteed. She also suggested that while rights would be enforced by British courts, they could also be enshrined in international law if the agreement was included in the final treaty of withdrawal. – BBC It was intended as a big bang moment when Theresa May went to Brussels to reset the troubled Brexit negotiations by unveiling the UK’s “generous offer” towards the three million EU citizens who live and work in Britain. But to judge by the ashen and downcast look on the Prime Minister’s face as she departed a late-night dinner of EU leaders, the big bang in Brussels had turned into something of a damp squib. – Peter Foster for the Telegraph (£) At the press conference this afternoon she repeated that it would be the British courts in charge. So far, so the same. But she then tantalisingly – if you are a nerd like me – said that because the rights would be agreed as part of the withdrawal treaty, they would be therefore subject to international law. Therefore, theoretically, that means they could be enforced by an international court of some variety. Lawyers suggest that is not likely to be the Hague, but could be some kind of new organisation that had British and European lawyers involved. – Laura Kuenssberg for the BBC May stands firm against Brussels bullies – Express Watch: EU leaders react to Theresa May’s citizens offer – Telegraph (£) What is UK offering EU citizens? – BBC Theresa May forced to defend EU citizens offer – Telegraph (£) Sturgeon: ‘Devil in the detail’ of EU citizens deal – BBC Theresa May’s offer EU migrants is better late than never, and critics will have to accept that . – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) European leaders complain at summit about lack of detail – The Times (£) May’s rights offer falls flat on its face – Politico No, May could not have avoided this battle over EU nationals – Henry Hill for ConservativeHome Theresa May has finally done her duty for EU nationals. Will the EU do the same? – Fraser Nelson for the Spectator …while George Osborne claims Theresa May blocked plan to guarantee EU citizen rights immediately after the referendum Theresa May single-handedly blocked a plan to immediately guarantee the future rights of the 3m EU citizens in the UK last summer, George Osborne has revealed. The then-Home Secretary was the only member of the Cabinet to oppose David Cameron, who “wanted to reassure EU citizens they would be allowed to stay”, after Brexit. “All his Cabinet agreed with that unilateral offer, except his Home Secretary, Mrs May, who insisted on blocking it,” revealed the Evening Standard, now edited by Mr Osborne. – Independent Theresa May fails to fully deny blocking rights for EU citizens – Evening Standard Irish Taoiseach rips into EU leaders’ sniping over May’s Brexit plans The Irish Taioseach Leo Varadkar tonight said fellow European leaders who have spent the day sniping at Theresa May’s stance over citizens’ rights are being “unhelpful” when it comes to the Brexit negotiations. In a forthright intervention the freshly installed Dublin chief insisted it should be up to the bloc’s dedicated negotiator Michel Barnier and not the heads of individual member states to determine whether or not the proposal comes up to scratch. During a press conference at the end of a two-day EU summit Mr Varadkar, who replaced Enda Kenny just a week ago, also offered his own far more upbeat assessment of the UK prime minister’s handling of the issue. – Express Government says Brexit will help boost trade with developing world The U.K. government is doubling down on its commitment to trade with developing nations as it prepares to leave the European Union. In a statement issued Saturday evening, the government pledged improved post-Brexit access to U.K. markets for developing nations. “The government will use Brexit to cement Britain’s standing in the world and meet our commitments to the world’s poorest by securing their existing duty-free access to U.K. markets and providing new opportunities to increase trade links,” the statement said. – Politico Brexit under threat as MPs from all parties plan alliance MPs from all parties are already planning an alliance to defeat Theresa May’s plans for Brexit, just days into the new Parliament. Strategies to amend future legislation – including a key immigration bill – to force ministers to listen to business groups and to show the EU that Parliament wants a “softer” exit are being drawn up, The Independent has learned. One Conservative MP said the aim was to give confidence to “bullied” ministers who are reluctant to “speak out”, – Independent Gisela Stuart criticises Cameron’s referendum question as “vacuous” The co-chair of Vote Leave, Gisela Stuart, has criticised David Cameron’s decision to call a referendum on the EU. In an interview for my new book How To Lose A Referendum, Ms Stuart argues that Cameron should never have put a Yes/No referendum to the British people, which she describes as a “vacuous question.” Despite the fact that she was one of the most significant players in the campaign to leave the EU, she argues that the whole thing was “an abuse of democratic process… I’ve never gone through a voting process where the losers demand of the winners that they explain themselves. This is what happened with the referendum, because you had a binary question”. – Sky News ECB takes steps to wrestle control from City over London-based clearing operations The European Central Bank has requested enhanced powers to supervise clearing activities, it said on Friday, a move to shore up its authority over London-based euro clearing once Britain leaves the EU. The ECB estimates that €101bn (£88bn) worth of euro-denominated derivatives trading is cleared in the UK each day and open positions total around €33 trillion, or more than 90 per cent of all euro derivatives trade done around the globe. The ECB is concerned that its authority over the trading may be weakened after Brexit, undercutting the central bank’s oversight of a systematically important activity. – Independent EU power grab is no disaster for City – Allister Heath for the Telegraph (£) Nicola Sturgeon apologises to farmers over second year of EU subsidy payment shambles Nicola Sturgeon has been forced to apologise to Scotland’s farmers over more delays to thousands of their EU subsidy payments after keeping them in the dark over her request for an extension to next week’s deadline. The First Minister told farmers at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh that there is “no complacency” by the Scottish Government and there a “100 per cent focus” to ensure 2016 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments are made on time. But the Tories said Fergus Ewing, her Rural Economy Minister, should consider resigning for failing to inform the industry when his officials approached the European Commission on Tuesday asking for a three-and-a-half month extension to the payment deadline. – Telegraph (£) Charles Moore: This country has come through many a crisis, but this one is a true shemozzle When I edited The Spectator in the 1980s, most of the staff, including myself, were young. We had the optimism of youth, therefore, but when a crisis came along, we sometimes panicked, because it was unfamiliar. I always found it helpful that we retained one elderly member of staff who could offer a different perspective. “Well,” he would begin, “the last time we had one of these shemozzles…”. The mere fact that he could remember past disasters – and had lived to tell the tale – was reassuring. Most agree that this country is in a crisis. This week, people have talked to me about nothing else. At a memorial gathering, at a party to commemorate one year since the Brexit vote, on trains, in the street, and even at Ascot races, they have poured out their worries to me. – Charles Moore for the Telegraph (£) Diane James: Is there a case for the UK staying in the European Economic Area? EEA membership is effectively a form of EU membership lite. The people of Britain voted in June 2016 on a clear EU membership question – Leave or Remain. The vote outcome was definitively Leave. The main issues that determined the result of the referendum were UK control over immigration, legal primacy of UK courts, and the UK’s desire to go global and cut its own trade deals. EEA membership will prevent all of these. – Diane James MEP for City A.M. Leo McKinstry: Theresa May’s concessions on EU citizens risk undermining a key tenet of Brexit The Prime Minister’s supporters are eager to trumpet the boldness of her offer on the rights of EU nationals living in Britain. Under her proposed deal, most of the 3.2 million EU citizens will be granted the same rights as Britons, including access to welfare. However, far from representing audacity, Theresa Mays’ plan is an indicator of how badly she had been undermined by the General Election result. Bereft of the mandate she sought and her grip on office now tenuous, she has been forced to give ground in the very first week of the Brexit talks. – Leo McKinstry for the Telegraph (£) Joseph Hackett: Distance won’t stop a global Britain Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry’s highlight of the General Election campaign was when she was asked about prospects for post-Brexit trade with Commonwealth countries, and completely messed up her response. “The truth is the majority of our trade takes place with the European Union,” she announced (this is, in fact, not true). “And things like our food industry, you can’t export it to Australia – it will go off.” Obviously this is not correct. Ask anyone who’s ever had New Zealand lamb, for instance – they will have found it delicious, even after it has travelled so far. Thornberry tried to clarify herself, insisting she meant processed foods which “have to be sold pretty immediately,” like “breaded chicken breasts” – but one suspects even they could withstand 24 hours of refrigeration. – Joseph Hackett for Get Britain Out Mark Brolin: Theresa May is the underdog, ready to confound us all by playing a blinder over Brexit What is the one thing in politics that nearly always guarantees disappointment? Answer: High expectations. Take Barack Obama or Nick Clegg. Both promised gold of the progressive kind; meaning amongst others peace on earth and a less polarised way of conducting politics. Animated voters carried them into government. Practical reality was soon biting back. Due to the grandeur of their promises voter disillusionment proved immense and pretty much destroyed the election prospects of their successors. The Theresa May rise-and-fall-story is similar even if uniquely speedy. – Mark Brolin for the Telegraph (£) Tom Slater: One year on: let’s defend the Brexit spirit A year ago today, the British public made history. 17.4million people voted to leave the European Union, to break free from the technocratic straitjacket of Brussels. This was a vote that was huge not only in size – the biggest vote for anything in our history, no less – but in its significance. It was a vote against the wishes of the leadership of all the political class, against the doomsday warnings of big business and the international set, and in the face of the screeching condemnation of the cultural elite. – Tom Slater for Spiked Brexit comment in brief A year on, the proof that Project Fear’s Brexit warnings have yet to come true – Patrick Scott for the Telegraph (£) Our choice is hard Brexit – or turning back – Matthew Parris for The Times (£) Forget the doom-mongering, here are twelve reasons to be excited about Brexit – Julian Jessop for the Telegraph (£) One year on, the Brexit vote has transformed politics. The next few years are going to be a wild ride – Anand Menon for the Telegraph (£) 13 things we learnt about Britain since the EU Referendum – Ed West for the Spectator Brexit Podcast: Chewy negotiations over macerated cherries – BBC 5 Live Messy start to Brexit a sign of things to come – Jason Farrell for Sky News Immigration still pushing up Britain’s population – Express editorial The Guardian view on Brexit: Wrong then, wrong now, wrong in the future – Guardian editorial Brexit news in brief Andrea Leadsom says broadcasters need to be patriotic over Brexit – BBC Britons want Brexit!’ Tim Martin’s explosive tirade during TV row – Express What has happened since the Brexit vote? – BBC Emmanuel Macron’s charm offensive in Brussels debut – BBC Jean-Claude Juncker says he has no clear idea what UK wants as negotiations get underway – Independent ‘That’s dope!’: EU migrants react to Theresa May’s pledge to allow them to stay – Telegraph (£) Michael Gove: Nicola Sturgeon must stop showboating if she wants Brexit concessions – Telegraph Brits fleeing Brexit drive up Paris property price – The Times (£)