Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with additional insight from the BrexitCentral team You can’t talk to fellow leaders, EU tells PM… Theresa May will be barred from negotiating the terms of Brexit with her fellow European Union leaders, senior figures in Brussels have warned. In a sign of an increasingly hardline approach, the prime minister will be prevented from joining discussions at future EU heads of state meetings, she has been told. The only person with whom she can sit down for talks is the European Commission’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. The EU leaders’ position contradicts Mrs May’s insistence during a campaign speech last week that she would personally negotiate Brexit with the “prime ministers, presidents and chancellors of Europe”. – The Times (£) …as Britain’s alleged Brexit fee rises to €100 billion… The EU has raised its opening demand for Britain’s Brexit bill to an upfront gross payment of up to €100bn, according to Financial Times analysis of new stricter demands driven by France and Germany. Following direct requests from several member states, EU negotiators have revised their initial calculations to maximise the liabilities Britain is asked to cover, including post-Brexit farm payments and EU administration fees in 2019 and 2020. Although over coming decades Britain’s net bill would be lower than the €100bn upfront settlement, the more stringent approach to Britain’s outstanding obligations significantly increases the estimated €60bn charge mentioned by Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president. – Financial Times EU doubles Britain’s Brexit divorce bill to £92 billion after pressure from France, Germany and Poland – Daily Mail Brexit divorce bill ‘could reach £84bn’ – Daily Telegraph UK will not pay 100 billion euro EU exit bill, says Brexit minister – Reuters The Germans think Brexit Britain owes the EU but the IOU is all theirs – Philip Johnston for The Daily Telegraph (£) …and May vows to be ‘a bloody difficult woman’ with Jean-Claude Juncker… Responding to claims the two clashed over a working dinner at Downing Street, the Prime Minister said she will not give the European Commission president an easy ride. Former Cabinet colleague Ken Clarke branded the Mrs May “difficult” during the Tory leadership campaign. But the Prime Minister wore the description as a badge of honour as she fired a warning shot to Jean-Claude Juncker amid reports of tensions between the two politicians. – Daily Express May: Juncker will find me ‘bloody difficult woman’ in Brexit talks – The Guardian In full: Theresa May interview with Laura Kuenssberg – BBC > WATCH on BrexitCentral: Theresa May: “I’m a bloody difficult woman” …but Government sources say the UK ‘will not enter into briefing war’ with the Commission The UK will not enter into “a briefing war” with the European Commission over Brexit talks, Tory sources have said. It follows reports in a German paper of repeated clashes between Theresa May and Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker at a Downing Street dinner. EU sources claimed UK misunderstanding of the talks process, and ignorance about how Brussels works, could lead to no deal being agreed on the UK’s exit. Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the reports were “tittle-tattle”. She said the emergence of the reports was “not the right way” of negotiating, but the UK was committed to negotiating in “good faith”. – BBC Prime Minister Theresa May will lead Britain’s Brexit talks and is approaching the negotiations with goodwill, her spokesman said on Tuesday, responding to criticism that her government underestimated the complexity of the process. “We are clear that we will make a success of Brexit and we will secure a deal that works in the best interest of Britain and the European Union,” the spokesman told reporters. “All I can say … is that we approach these talks in a constructive manner and with huge amounts of goodwill.” – Reuters Even by the standards of the European Union, the leaking of a fly-on-the-wall account of a supposedly private Downing Street dinner between Theresa May, David Davis and Jean-Claude Juncker and his team was a brazen power-play. It was designed to do two things: first to take an early lead in winning the “blame game” by portraying Mrs May and Mr Davis, and their Brexit strategy, as detached from reality and, second, to sow the seeds of divisions on the British side. – Peter Foster for The Daily Telegraph Leak of Downing Street dinner Brexit talks just `tittle-tattle´, says Home Secretary Rudd – Daily Mail Tories fundraising on back of Brussels Briefing bluster – Guido Fawkes Scottish Tory boss Ruth Davidson suggests EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker is a dishonest boozer – The Sun Furious viewers blast ‘biased’ BBC after interviewer lays into Theresa May over Brexit – Daily Express EU’s spin about May and Juncker’s difficult dinner is calculated and heavy-handed – Christian May for City A.M. Juncker’s show of arrogance will win votes for Theresa May – Stephen Pollard for The Daily Express Juncker’s leak wasn’t about us – it was part of an internal EU battle – Mark Wallace for i-news > Lord Callanan on BrexitCentral today: Expect lots more leaks from Brussels – but we must hold our nerve during the Brexit negotiations UK manufacturing growth spikes to three-year high in April British factories had their best month in three years in April, the clearest sign yet that manufacturers are enjoying at least a temporary boost from the pound’s fall after the Brexit vote and an improving global economy, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 57.3 from 54.2 in March, exceeding all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists which had predicted a slight fall. The figures echoed a string of upbeat economic news from the euro zone, the biggest export market for British manufacturers, and may be a small boon for Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of the June 8 national election. – Reuters Brexit boom for farmers: ‘Major opportunity’ for food industry after leaving EU The House of Lords European Union Committee has hailed the end of the “one size fits all” approach of the much derided Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with the end of Brussels rule. The “Brexit: agriculture” report also notes that agriculture provides Britain with an important negotiating tool for free trade agreements with the EU and other countries because it is “a net importer” of food stuffs.It is the latest evidence that the UK could face a more prosperous future outside the EU if Brexit is handled correctly despite the continued Project Fear claims made by Remoaners – Daily Express EU officials say all countries should open borders again completely within the next six months EU officials say all countries should lift border controls within the next six months and return to completely free travel between states. And the European Commission demanded that Germany, Austria, Denmark and Norway do the same within the coming months. Officials called on the system of free travel within the bloc to be reinstated and protected. The temporary checks were put in place after the 2015 migration crisis in which hundreds of thousands came to Europe. Sweden said today it was lifting the checks despite worries over migrant numbers and Islamic militancy. Controls were put in place at the German-Austrian border, and at the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian borders. It also put them at Austria’s perimeters with Slovenia and Hungry. – The Sun How Jean-Claude Juncker’s ‘monster’ is plotting to punish Britain for Brexit His fearsome reputation is summed up by his many nicknames: Darth Vader, Rasputin and The Monster. As Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief of staff, Martin Selmayr is regarded as the power behind the throne in the Brexit negotiations to come, and the bad news for Theresa May is that he is an EU zealot determined to “punish” Britain for leaving the bloc. Mr Selmayr, the man widely accused of leaking a damaging account of Mrs May to a German newspaper, is also close to senior figures in Angela Merkel’s party, raising questions about Germany’s role in briefing against Mrs May. Tellingly, Mrs Merkel made a late addition to a speech she gave the day after Mr Juncker met Mrs May in Downing Street, to include a pointed reference to people in Britain having “illusions” about the Brexit deal. – Daily Telegraph Germany ‘interfering in General Election in attempt to undermine Theresa May’ Germany has been accused by allies of Theresa May of trying to influence the General Election by undermining the Prime Minister over Brexit talks. Allies of Mrs May believe Germany, in tandem with the EU, is embarking on a new “project fear” by repeatedly briefing against her. Senior officials in the German government and in Brussels have openly mocked Mrs May or leaked sensitive information about private meetings in what is being seen as an attempt to undermine the Prime Minister. – Daily Telegraph Nick Clegg: Brexiteers are ‘avoiding second referendum because they fear they would lose it’ Brexiteers are avoiding a second referendum on the terms of Brexit because they fear they would fail in convincing the British public to accept a final deal, the former Deputy Prime Minister has said. During a speech Nick Clegg said voters would be much more alert “to the lies and fabrications” deployed during the EU referendum campaign and that the prospect of Brexit might be “far less appealing” in two years’ time. The former leader of the Liberal Democrats also said he believed that a leaked account of a dinner between Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, at Downing Street last week sounded “very plausible”. – Independent Your Florida holiday will cost 23% more after Brexit, Clegg warns – Daily Mail Theresa May thinks she can bark orders at EU like civil service, says Clegg – The Guardian Nick Clegg claims Theresa May is winging it on Brexit – Daily Express As a European, it’s clear to me that most of you want Brexit – Alessio Colonnelli for The Independent Brexit leads first Evening Standard under George Osborne Under the front page headline “Brussels twists knife on Brexit, the paper’s political editor says the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator has openly mocked Theresa May. Former Chancellor Mr Osborne backed Remain in the referendum. He had pledged to be “fearless” and “independent” in his new role. As he arrived for his first day, Mr Osborne – the Conservative MP for Tatton – said: “It’s very exciting to be starting in the new job. “It’s a really important time in our country when people are going to want the straight facts, the informed analysis so they can make the really big decisions about this country’s future.” – BBC Brussels twists knife on Brexit as EU chief mocks Theresa May – Evening Standard Osborne spends first day in new job attacking leader who fired him – The Times (£) George Osborne brands Brexit a ‘mistake’ on first day at Evening Standard – Daily Express A paper committed to freedom and optimism – Evening Standard editorial Theresa May will miss net migration target’ say 70% of voters Nearly seven out of ten voters do not expect Theresa May to hit her target of slashing net migration below 100,000 a year, an opinion poll shows. According to an Ipsos Mori survey published yesterday, 68 per cent of adults quizzed thought it was not at all likely or fairly unlikely that the Prime Minister will reach the figure if she is returned to Downing Street. In the most recent official figures earlier this year, annual net migration was 273,000. The survey found support among a majority of voters for allowing doctors, nurses, care workers, seasonal fruit and vegetable pickers, academics and computer experts to come to Britain from the EU after Brexit. – Daily Express Matthew Elliott: Leavers? Remainers? Forget it. Most of us are Brexiteers now Despite the recent fightback from recalcitrant Remainers, led by former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and John Major, it is well worth remembering the majority of Brits have been keen to put disagreements over the referendum behind them. Far from trying to re-fight the battles of 2016 and perpetuate Leave-Remain divisions, most voters are now keen to embrace Britain’s post-Brexit future, regardless of which way they voted. Indeed, a recent ICM poll showed that 68 per cent of people now agreed that the Government should simply get on with delivering the result.Among them have been many MPs who were wholehearted supporters of Remain during the referendum campaign, but have now embraced the result – the largest number of votes for anyone or anything in British electoral history – and are determined to push for the best possible future for Britain outside the EU. – Matthew Elliott for ConservativeHome Hugh Bennett: Is the European Union unreformable? Emmanuel Macron becomes the latest figure in a long line of pro-EU politicians to talk up the prospect of EU reform at the height of an election campaign. Nobody should be fooled by his claim that Frexit is on the table if he becomes President – Macron is as committed to the EU as they come… The EU has faced crisis after crisis in the past few years, from the economic misery wreaked on Southern Europe by the euro, to free movement and Schengen crumbling under the weight of the migration crisis. If the EU was ever going to reform, it would have done so already. Instead, it simply falls back on its one-size-fits-all cure for every problem – “more Europe”. – Hugh Bennett for City A.M. Gina Miller: How can MPs or citizens agree to an EU deal we know nothing about? It’s not often that the staid Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung sets the British news agenda. But over the bank holiday weekend, that paper’s reporting of a leaked conversation between the EU and British negotiators over dinner set British political commentators alight. The FAZ report, as relayed in English on Twitter by The Economist’s Berlin correspondent, suggested a poorly briefed British team labouring under illusions about what the EU owed it and what it owed the EU. No doubt, this was a calculated leak by Claude Juncker. But if we do take the leak at face value, it serves to demonstrate two things. First, the negotiations with the European Union will be more difficult than Brexiteers imagined. Second, the prime minister’s “deal or no deal” stance could backfire spectacularly for us all, and result in the kind of extreme Brexit we are fighting against. – Gina Miller for The Times (£) Anthony Hilton: Hit from hard Brexit could be softer than feared If we have a so-called hard Brexit, would be disastrous for our export performance and national prosperity. It is a powerful argument, but is it true? Barely a day goes by without hearing the assertion but what you never get is hard evidence to justify it or an explanation of why it might be true. No one properly explains exactly why the WTO option should be so disastrous. This is the starting point for Graham Gudgin and Ken Coutts of Cambridge University’s Centre for Business Research and Neil Gibson of Ulster University. If the average tariff imposed under WTO rules is only around 4% (which it is), and sterling has already fallen since the referendum by about 12% (which it has), why should it be so disastrous? The fall in the currency is three times what was necessary to overcome the tariff walls. – Anthony Hilton for the Evening Standard Brian Monteith: The EU is scared: It knows No Deal is better for Britain than a bad deal I can agree with the president that Theresa May inhabits a different galaxy, but he is looking through the wrong end of the telescope; it is she who is firmly grounded in the mortal world of realpolitik, while the EU leadership at every level lives in an ethereal cosmos of inert gases disappearing up its own black hole. First, ask any seasoned negotiator about how best to conduct the process of finding a mutually desirable agreement, and they will tell you that, when you walk in to the meeting, you need to know what would make you give up on the talks and walk out again. Theresa May has already worked that out and it scares Juncker and his chief negotiator Michel Barnier. – Brian Monteith for City A.M. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Britain must leapfrog Brussels and seize the initiative on every front The scandalous ‘Brexit-Dinner’ in Downing Street was an ambush. Quite apart from the breach of trust by EU officials, the incident was clearly planned. It has the hallmarks of a stunt. The “leaks” in the Frankfurter Allgemeine – should you be so naive as to accept them at face value – are a concerted attempt to discredit the Prime Minister and the Government at the outset of an election campaign. Brussels is behaving as if it hopes to reduce her working majority in Parliament, and blunt her Brexit mandate. The EU is playing on Britain’s deep political and regional divisions at a critical moment, in essence trying to manipulate the outcome of a Westminster election. – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for The Daily Telegraph Brendan O’Neill: Who does Jean-Claude Juncker think he is? If the lesson you have taken from the leaks is that May is misguided, you weren’t paying attention. Even these leaks designed to make Juncker look good actually reveal what an infinite vacuum of principle and decency he is. Whether he was whipping out a massive pile of paper to show how complex the EU entry deal with Croatia is — like a latter-day Cecil Rhodes saying, ‘This is what nations must do to please me’ — or telling May that Brexit ‘cannot be a success’, Juncker comes off as immovable and autocratic, far more interested in maintaining his grey grip on the levers of EU power than respecting the will of 17.4m pesky Britons. Worst of all was the revelation that right after dinner he phoned Angela Merkel to fill her in. He told her May is ‘deluding herself’ and ‘living in another galaxy’. It’s not surprising May seems so alien, so otherworldly to Juncker… – Brendan O’Neill for The Spectator Brexit comment in brief Britain has missed the chance of a hassle-free – and quick – Brexit. Too late now – Jeremy Warner for The Daily Telegraph Greece can never pay its debts. So why not admit it? – Tim Worstall for CapX Britain’s complacency over Brexit will end in humiliation – Simon Tilford for The Guardian A smooth Brexit? No chance: this will be a long and bumpy ride – David Smith for The Times (£) You can’t just cut and run from Europe, Theresa May – it’s illegal – Helena Kennedy for The Guardian How Britain can lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Alan Mak for CapX Brexit news in brief Fury at EU making expats a Brexit ‘bargaining chip’ – Daily Mail Deal agreed for Greece, now it must be sold to parliament – The Times (£) Lawyers warn of industry influence over public health laws as EU ‘fundamental right’ is axed – Independent Northern lite: Britain’s EU club seeks life after Brexit – Reuters German home affairs spokesman says UK is deluded about Brexit – Independent Brexit regulatory uncertainty ‘threatens UK med tech’ – Reuters Sir Richard Branson warns of Brexit ‘danger’ to smaller businesses – Belfast Telegraph