Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU security demands put lives at risk, Theresa May warns today… The European Union’s rigid Brexit “ideology” risks endangering the lives of its citizens and hampering the fight against terrorism and organised crime, Theresa May will claim today. Mrs May will demand that the EU drops its insistence that future security co-operation is overseen by European courts. She will warn that while the UK remains “unconditionally committed” to the continent’s security, “rigid institutional restrictions” from Brussels risk hampering co-operation. Her remarks will be seen in European capitals as an attempt to use security as a Trojan horse to get a more favourable deal in other areas. – The Times (£) The UK is offering its substantial resources (the second largest defence budget in NATO) and expertise in counter terrorism. The prime minister wants a treaty to enshrine what Downing Street describes as the real, tangible benefits of cooperation, and failure to sign up will play into the hands of our enemies who’d like nothing more than to see Europe divided. Her warning to EU leaders is blunt. Don’t let your deep seated ideology put Europe’s citizens in danger. Mrs May has consistently said that she won’t use security as a bargaining chip, that her offer is “unconditional” but that’s no guarantee that the EU would simply accept a request from the UK to continue to be a part of Europol or the European Arrest Warrant. – Vicki Young for BBC News Sharing data and security information – another non problem – John Redwood’s Diary Call security! The EU needs our help and member states want post-Brexit deal – James Forsyth for the Sun The EU has to make concessions and be flexible on security issues – Times editorial (£) Europeans must remember how important UK is to their own trade and defence – Telegraph editorial (£) …as European spy chiefs make joint plea for post-Brexit co-operation The heads of the British, French and German intelligence agencies have called for continued security co-operation after the UK leaves the EU, in an unprecedented joint statement. Meeting in Munich, they said their countries must jointly fight major security threats such as terrorism, illegal migration and cyber attacks. Britain’s MI6 is headed by Alex Younger, the French DGSE by Bernard Emie and German BND by Bruno Kahl. Brexit may reduce some data exchanges. The BBC’s security correspondent Gordon Corera says the joint statement is a signal – to politicians as well as the public – that the spy chiefs do not want any political turbulence to complicate their relations. – BBC News > Steven Woolfe on BrexitCentral: Staying in the European Arrest Warrant is a compromise too far >Jayne Adye on BrexitCentral: Security cooperation in a post-Brexit Europe Angela Merkel says Germany ‘deplores’ Brexit and calls for the UK to provide more detail on the EU divorce plan Angela Merkel has told Theresa May that Germany “deplores” Brexit but insisted she is not “frustrated” by Britain’s approach to leaving the European Union. The German Chancellor said she is “just curious” about what the UK wants from negotiations with Brussels. She said Germany had not changed its position on the UK’s decision to leave the bloc, as she told a press conference in Berlin: “We deplore it.” European leaders are hungry for the UK to set out its negotiating position in greater detail and Ms Merkel said that she now wanted Britain to set out its proposals for a deal in clearer terms. “We very much look forward to Britain again setting out its ideas,” she said. – Telegraph (£) Angela Merkel upbeat on Britain’s chances of a good trade deal – The Times (£) Merkel ‘curious not frustrated’ after Theresa May meeting – BBC News Theresa May and Angela Merkel’s curious conference – Katy Balls for The Spectator > Watch on BrexitCentral’s Youtube Channel: Merkel says close deal doesn’t mean “cherry-picking” > Watch on BrexitCentral’s Youtube Channel: May and Merkel’s full press conference City cheers plan for bespoke Brexit deal on finance Hopes have been raised that the UK will strike a bespoke deal on financial services with the EU, keeping the vital cross-Channel trade open after Brexit. Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, is poised to launch the plan as the centrepiece of a key speech as soon as next week, proposing a system of mutual recognition in financial regulation – allowing UK and EU firms to trade freely, but crucially enabling Britain to set its own laws. The aim is to ensure both sides base their financial regulations on the same principles, so even as precise rules diverge after Brexit the laws in each market have similar effects. If the EU accepts the plan, it should mean both sides will be happy to allow institutions from the other access into their markets. – Telegraph (£) Alleged Gove-Johnson split prompts fears of ‘soft’ Brexit Gove and Johnson, who campaigned together for Vote Leave, are at odds over regulatory alignment, with the environment secretary understood to increasingly favour a closer relationship after Brexit.The pair are due to meet at Theresa May’s hastily arranged Chequers away-day, scheduled for after the Prime Minister returns from Germany, where it is hoped a formal position on Brexit can be thrashed out after last week’s two-day meeting failed to result in a compromise. One source told City A.M.: “The word on the street is that Michael will be the guy who comes to Chequers and sides with the PM and [Remainers] Hammond, Olly Robbins and Jeremy Heywood, and Boris will be left slightly on his own.” – City A.M. Brexit fury after Remainers say they will become majority as Brexiteer voters ‘die off’ A leading Remain campaigner has been accused of peddling a “myth” by suggesting his side will have a majority soon once the older people who backed Brexit “die off”. Former government minister and United Nations official Lord Malloch-Brown chairs the Best for Britain campaign part-funded by billionaire financier George Soros. The peer said he was “profoundly” motivated by the feelings of his children, their friends and the youth groups his campaign was working with. He said: ”They are all really angry with older people. “They feel utterly betrayed – and they feel that the actuarial rules of life are moving in their favour and that within a matter of four, five 10 years, they are going to be an overwhelming majority in this country. – Express Chopper’s Brexit Podcast: Brexiteers are ‘dying off’ says Lord Malloch-Brown – Telegraph Gove considers foie gras ban in post-Brexit animal welfare drive Michael Gove is considering a ban on foie gras as he tries to avoid being outflanked by Labour in the drive to improve animal welfare. Imports of the delicacy, which is made from the livers of force-fed geese and ducks, could be barred as a way of illustrating the benefits of Brexit. EU single market rules mean that a ban on foie gras by Britain is not legally possible to impose, nor are restrictions on the export of live animals for slaughter. Mr Gove will challenge Labour, which last week mooted a ban, to say whether it, too, was prepared to support diverging from European law. – The Times (£) UK will need ‘thousands’ more customs officers after Brexit, Dutch MP warns The Dutch government plans to hire at least 750 new customs agents in preparation for Britain’s exit from the European Union. The Dutch parliament’s Brexit rapporteur, Pieter Omtzigt, who had recommended the move, said both sides of the English Channel had been slow to wake up to the reality that Britain was on course to leave the EU in 14 months’ time. “If we need hundreds of new customs and agricultural inspectors, the British are going to need thousands,” he said. Omtzigt warned that “for a trading nation like the Netherlands, you just cannot afford for customs not to work, it would be a disaster”. – Guardian David Campbell Bannerman: Why EFTA wouldn’t work for Britain The UK’s population is around four times the size of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland put together… It is entirely possible that a U.K. application might be vetoed by Norway. Not only is Norway the top EFTA dog, but Norwegian politicians still harbour clear ambitions to get into the EU (despite 80 per cent of the population being anti). Norway’s ‘Conservatives’ are far closer to our Liberal Democrats. EFTA Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are unsuitable for the world’s sixth largest economy: Britain’s. Norway’s economy is dominated by fish and oil; Iceland’s by fish, energy and aluminium (finance no longer); Switzerland’s by finance, pharmaceuticals and food processing. All important – but not nearly as comprehensive the U.K’s economy. – David Campbell Bannerman MEP for ConservativeHome Kate Andrews: The cabinet is losing control of the Brexit narrative Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has a flair for performance and a passion for philosophy. This might explain why he took to the stage on Wednesday at an event hosted by Policy Exchange to paint the “big picture” for Brexit Britain – particularly to Remainers, at whom the speech was specifically aimed. Johnson’s remarks struck an optimistic cord, as he called on the nation to “unite about what we all believe in” – an “outward-looking, confident” Britain, implying strongly his support for a liberal Brexit. – Kate Andrews for City A.M. Brexit comment in brief Soros has undermined our country enough – Robert Bates of Get Britain Out for CommentCentral Bullying Brussels won’t defeat Brexit Britain – Peter Lyon of Get Britain Out for The Commentator The Bafta we all want is a UK-US trade deal – Stephen Kelly for the Telegraph (£) New Year looks bright for Sino-UK relations – Woraphanit Ruayrungruang for City A.M. Is it possible to reverse Brexit? – Anand Menon for the Guardian 17,000 people have spoken out – Labour must consult members on Brexit – Heidi Alexander for LabourList Brexit news in brief Gavin Williamson’s diplomatic incident – The Spectator Brexit migrants to build new Ireland – The Times (£) Henry Bolton hoping to enlist support of former Ukip leaders in desperate bid to keep top job today – Telegraph Spooked fund managers look at rivals to London – FT (£) And Finally… Britons work longer than anyone else in Europe Britons work more hours than anyone else in Europe, according to the EU’s own figures. The only other major economy where people spent more than 40 hours a week in the office on average was Germany, the study found. But Germans still lag nearly two hours short of the time put in by employees in the UK. Britons spend an average of 42 hours and 18 minutes a week at work, compared to 40 hours and 24 minutes in Germany, and just 39 hours in France. The analysis from the EU’s statistics arm Eurostat found British workers have maintained their hours over the years since the recession struck in 2008, against a decline in working time in others among the big European economies. – Daily Mail