EU leaders meet to mark 60th anniversary of Treaty of Rome The European Union’s remaining 27 leaders will declare the EU to be “undivided and indivisible” at an anniversary summit today, despite the looming reality of Brexit and weeks of bitter disagreement over the text of the Rome Declaration setting out the future of troubled bloc… Preparations for celebration have been marred by deep divisions among EU members, with Poland and Greece both threatening to refuse to sign a formal declaration unless given concessions on issues, including immigration and austerity… Poland responded angrily to suggestions from Angela Merkel and Mr Juncker that Europe might accelerate moves to becoming a “multi-speed union”… The drafting process also exposed Europe’s increasingly bitter north-south divide over austerity and the euro. – Daily Telegraph With plenty of pomp, Europe’s leaders renew vows – Matthew Karnitschnig for Politico Poland and Greece talk tough before Rome summit – EUObserver What Europe’s papers are saying about the EU anniversary – Politico The watered-down Rome treaty which shows the deep divisions within the EU – an annotated guide – Peter Foster for the Daily Telegraph The rise(s) and fall(s) of the European Union – Ryan Heath for Politico Peter Foster: Bitter divisions have stopped EU from achieving its project – happy birthday to it, all the same The EU’s travails should not be greeted with schadenfreude in Britain any more than Brexit should be a source of delight among the federalists who think that, with the UK out the door, they will finally be free to strong-arm dissenting states into the euro and complete the dream. What Britain should hope for instead is a new realism in Europe – a deeper recognition that the project needs rethinking among much more flexible lines if it is to accommodate the new political realities thrown up by austerity and terror… Europe needs to give up on some of its grander designs, return more power to nation states, accepting national differences and focusing on collaboration between capitals on issues such as trade, climate change, immigration, data-flows and border security where there is demonstrable mutual interest. – Peter Foster for the Daily Telegraph (£) Eurocrat Franz Timmermans admits ‘huge silent majority’ of Europeans don’t like EU policies – Daily Express UK can’t blame EU for problems that led to Brexit, says Juncker – The Guardian Europe’s people will write the next chapter in the history of the EU – Jean-Claude Juncker for The Guardian In defense of a multispeed Europe – Maciej Kisilowski for Politico Those who believe in a united Europe must stand up and be counted – Guy Verhofstadt MEP for The Guardian Double-edged sword of EU’s birthday celebrations, 60 years after Treaty of Rome – Kenza Bryan for City A.M. Why the EU cannot survive unchanged – Manfred Weber MEP and Guy Verhofstadt MEP for Politico The Times: EU leaders must urgently address how to overhaul outdated and failing institutions The Rome meeting should in the first instance invite leaders to take a long look in the mirror. The crisis on the continent is so big as to have become all but invisible to its statesmen and stateswomen. The union, mimicking empires of the past, has become a victim of imperial overstretch… Its institutions have failed to develop in pace with its most pressing challenges: the single European currency and the breakdown of external borders in the face of mass migration… There has been a terrifying failure of European leadership over the past decade. Across the continent people feel poorer, confused and under threat. It will take more than a birthday party in Rome to reassure them that all will be well with Europe. – The Times (£) leader Treaty of Rome: respect the EU’s founding values – The Guardian editorial How the EU lost its way – Guilio Tremonti and Theodore Roosevelt Malloch for Politico Happy Birthday to the EU – John Redwood’s Diary >Matthew Ellery on BrexitCentral today: The EU needs a rethink on its 60th birthday Brussels prepared for possibility of Brexit talks breaking down Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition commissioner, said that she was prepared for the worst when Brexit talks begin next week after Theresa May triggers the Article 50 exit clause. In an interview with The Times, she said that the EU was ready to defend the “jewel” of the single market against unfair competition from Britain. “We are prepared for a conflictual situation,” Mrs Vestager said. “It will not be easy.” The European Commission, she revealed, has “very thorough” contingency plans drawn up if negotiations break down… “We start with the aim of having a decent, orderly ending and a future relationship beneficial to both,” Mrs Vestager said. “It is very important to have an open mind and say there will be conflicts. What we have learned is to be prepared for difficult outcomes — in general to prepare well.” – The Times (£) Burning bridges with UK is not in EU’s interest, Romanian EU minister says – Bloomberg EU ‘not in hostile mood’ as Brexit talks beckon, says Juncker – Katya Adler interview with Jean-Claude Juncker for BBC News Estonia: security will not be bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations – The Guardian Brexit: What would ‘no deal’ look like? – Joseph D’Urso and Sarah Glatte for BBC News Theresa May to announce UK will reclaim its waters for British fishermen Theresa May is expected to announce within weeks that the UK will reclaim its waters for British fishermen by pulling out of a deal that pre-dates the EU. The Prime Minister will take Britain out of the 1964 London convention which allows European fishing vessels to access waters six to twelve nautical miles from British shores… Alan Hastings, a fifth generation Ayrshire fisherman and a director of Fishing for Leave, said: “The Government must serve notice of pulling out of the 1964 convention at the same time as invoking Article 50. The fact that they haven’t already announced that is giving us the jitters. So far they have used the right rhetoric but their actions have not lived up to that.” – Daily Telegraph Fishermen rejoice as May hints she will ban EU boats from British seas – Daily Express >Alan Hastings on BrexitCentral yesterday: The Government must commit to taking back control of Britain’s fisheries Europeans blocked from jobs in department running Brexit EU citizens are being banned from applying for a significant number of new jobs in the Brexit department on grounds of national security. The Department for Exiting the European Union is undertaking a recruitment drive to hire dozens of new civil servants for Article 50 talks. However, ministers have been accused of being in the grip of paranoia after it emerged that a number of jobs will be reserved for British citizens only… A spokesman for the department said: “Because of the sensitive nature of the work done at the department, a small minority of posts are reserved for UK nationals. This is standard practice across the civil service, based on security advice, which sees around 25 per cent of jobs reserved overall.” – The Times (£) Civil service ‘needs more staff’ to deal with Brexit – BBC News Lord Heseltine criticised for saying Brexit like letting Germany win Second World War Germany will “win the peace” in Europe as a result of Brexit, with the UK’s influence diminished, the former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine has said. The Tory peer said it was “quite unacceptable” that Germany would be in a dominant position in Europe having lost the second world war… “If I was German I would be deeply offended,” a Ukip spokesman told the BBC. “I never realised the purpose of Britain’s membership of the EU was to stop German domination of Europe. For someone who is deeply pro-European to basically say he doesn’t trust the German people not to misbehave shows how utterly out of touch he is with the modern world and the modern, democratic and free Germany.” – The Guardian Conservative MP David TC Davies said he respected Lord Heseltine and the generation whose worldview was shaped by war but their outlook was not shared by others. “For them the EU was not just a trading arrangement. It was a way of avoiding a third world war,” he said. “But it is an analysis that is decades out of date. We can’t carry on as if we are all still living in the 1950s.” Mr Davies, who is vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British-German relations, added: “There is no chance of a war between Germany, France and Britain. We all share the same values and we are all open to each other for trade.” – BBC News Tom Harris: Britain is moving out, Mr Juncker. A grown-up should accept that rather than make childish threats If the financial hardships of life outside the EU are to be made so severe, then democratic expression is not what binds the EU together: it’s fear and deception. And there’s a corollary to the “pay as you leave” strategy. The reason such absurdly high figures are being attached to Britain is, paradoxically, because we’re a wealthy nation and have been a large net contributor to the EU’s coffers for 43 of our 44 years’ membership… If a net recipient such as Poland were to trigger Article 50, surely the logical conclusion of those demanding an exit bill from us would be that Poland should receive a settlement commensurate with its long-term obligations too – in other words, a big fat cheque signed by Mr Juncker? – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph (£) Andrew Grice: Theresa May will trigger Article 50 next week – but what exactly will happen after that? May will mark the moment by outlining the Great Repeal Bill, a deliberate echo of the 1832 Great Reform Bill which extended parliamentary representation to new industrial centres like Birmingham and Manchester. The parallel is misleading. Ministers will trumpet their measure as revoking the 1972 Act which took us into the European Community. On the contrary, it will write an estimated 27,000 EU legislative acts into UK law to prevent a “cliff edge” on Brexit day in 2019, giving the Government time to decide which of them to keep, water down, beef up or scrap. A White Paper due to be published alongside the Article 50 letter will spell out how this complex task will be carried out. The bill is expected to include a “Henry VIII clause” giving ministers sweeping powers to decide what to keep… – Andrew Grice for The Independent New EU Brexit timeline details – Politico Article 50 explained – Michael Wilkinson and Robert Midgley for the Daily Telegraph Asa Bennett: Remainers can ‘march for Europe’ all they like, but they can’t trample on the will of the people These protesters may think of themselves as heroic revolutionaries in their guerilla war against Brexit, but they’re more like the Japanese soldiers who kept on fighting after World War Two, refusing to accept that it had ended. They had their chance to make the Remain case; [it] was defeated by a margin of over 1.5 million votes in last year’s referendum… This project has more than enough problems, yet Remainers are determined to persuade voters that it is time to keep Britain part of it. By refusing to accept defeat, and insisting they can stop the will of the people, today’s protesters are showing the same contempt for democracy as the the European elite. – Asa Bennett for the Daily Telegraph (£) Pro-EU march to go ahead in London despite Westminster attack – The Guardian Theresa May to be accused of ‘dividing the country’ at Brexit protest in London – The Independent Brexit comment in brief Let’s use Brexit for national renewal – Alex Hickman for Reaction “Remoaner”…“Brexit fanatic” – it’s time to stop wallowing in referendum divisions – Allie Renison for ConservativeHome The three Brexiteers aren’t right for a charm offensive tour of Europe – it’s time for Prince William to step up – Benedict Spence for The Independent If Theresa May wants to prove she’s a strong Brexit leader, she should get herself to Rome – Denis MacShane for The Independent How has the Brexit vote affected the UK economy? March verdict – Katie Allen and Paul Scruton for The Guardian Bank of England policymakers must tackle inflation by slowly raising rates – Andrew Sentance for the Daily Telegraph (£) Brexit gives us a chance to try the world’s most effective anti-poverty programme – Sam Dumitriu for the Adam Smith Institute When Scotland met Germany – Janosch Delcker for Politico Brexit news in brief Sturgeon rejects holding an unofficial Scottish independence referendum – The Times (£) The German CEO advising Theresa May on the nuclear industry after Brexit – Bloomberg Juncker accuses Trump of risking new Balkans war by urging EU to break up – The Sun Juncker calls for Greek bailout deal in April – Politico