Merkel welcomes May’s ambition for a strong Europe… German chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed Theresa May’s remarks that Britain wants to see a strong Europe – even as it prepares to quit the EU. The prime minister told EU leaders she wanted to build a “strong partnership” with the EU and pledged the UK would be a “good friend and ally” post-Brexit. But Mrs May was forced to defend her decision to seek a close relationship with US President Donald Trump. EU leaders have voiced concern over his perceived hostility towards the union. Mrs May used a summit of EU Nato leaders in the Maltese capital of Valletta to build alliances ahead of Brexit and to brief her counterparts about her recent visit to the White House to meet Mr Trump. – BBC News EU leaders attack Donald Trump saying ‘we won’t be trampled on’ and warn of impact on the bloc’s future relations with US – Daily Telegraph Angela Merkel warns Theresa May over slashing taxes to undercut the EU – The Independent I’m the biggest threat to EU, Juncker says after wine-soaked lunch – The Times (£) Europe’s leaders should embrace, not shun, Theresa May: she is the only one of them who gets Trump – Jonathan Eyal for the Daily Telegraph (£) Theresa May takes the heat as EU leaders line up to swipe at Donald Trump in dangerous fit of pique – Peter Foster for the Daily Telegraph (£) …as Latvia’s PM says UK-EU trade deal ‘is possible’ by end of Brexit negotiations A trade deal with Europe alongside a divorce settlement is possible within the two-year negotiation timetable, according to an EU leader. The Latvian Prime Minister told Sky News that a reasonable solution should be sought with the UK and any differences could be overcome. The intervention came at an EU summit in Malta in which the 27 other leaders discussed Brexit as part of wider talks on the challenges facing the union. – Sky News Brussels bid to stop Eurosceptic becoming Trump envoy Politicians in Brussels are trying to block the appointment of the Eurosceptic academic who is tipped to become President Trump’s US ambassador to the EU. Ted Malloch, who is based at Henley Business School, Reading University, is understood to have been interviewed by Mr Trump’s team. The European parliament’s main political party groupings want to stop him taking the job after he made several pronouncements “denigrating” the EU. Senior MEPs have written to the European Commission and the European Council, branding Professor Malloch “hostile”. He has riled politicians throughout the bloc with assertions that he intended to “tame” the EU, which he has compared to the Soviet Union. He has also claimed that Mr Trump views the EU as “supranational and unelected”. A keen proponent of Brexit, Professor Malloch told The Times last month that he believed other EU states should hold referendums on leaving the union. He predicted that the euro could collapse within 18 months and said he would bet on its value falling. – The Times (£) High Court dismisses legal challenge to prevent the government taking Britain out of the single market Campaigners were seeking a judicial review of the government’s position that Britain would automatically leave the European Economic Area (EEA) when it left the European Union. Adrian Yalland and Peter Wilding, of the British Influence think tank, argued that parliament should have a say on triggering Article 127, the mechanism for leaving the EEA, as it did over Article 50 after a court ruling. The High Court accepted the government’s claim that the challenge was premature because ministers were yet to decide which legal route would be taken to leave the EEA. There was no ruling on the legal merits of the case, leaving the door open for a revived challenge in future. Article 127 of the EEA Agreement requires 12 months’ notice to leave, but the government has insisted that membership would automatically cease when Britain left the EU. – The Times (£) Tory whips draw up plans to defeat ‘guerilla’ tactics by anti-Brexit MPs… Conservative MPs – including senior ministers – have been banned from travelling outside London next week in case they are needed in the Commons at short notice to defeat “guerilla” tactics by pro-Remain parliamentarians. The Westminster convention of ‘pairing’ – where MPs are allowed to skip votes so long as someone in a rival party is also absent – has also been suspended as the Government attempts to defend its slim majority. Attempts to amend the Government’s Article 50 bill will be debated by MPs from Monday next week before the final vote on whether or not to back the landmark legislation takes place on Wednesday night. An incredible 142 pages of amendments have so far been tabled, and senior Conservative sources have admitted they fear being defeated by a combination of opposition MPs and pro-EU Tories dubbed “Provisional Remainers” by party whips. – PoliticsHome …with the Government determined to stick to Brexit timetable The British government is determined to stick to its timetable for leaving the European Union and wants to remind lawmakers of the referendum vote before they scrutinise Brexit legislation next week, a spokesman said on Friday. Dozens of amendments to a new law which allows Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty and launch the divorce talks have been drafted for next week in parliament, which could slow the bill’s progress. “What’s important is that we’ve had the referendum in June, people made it clear they wanted to leave the European Union, (and) the government is determined to get on with that, according to the timetable we’ve set out,” May’s spokesman told reporters. “The priority we have is triggering article 50 by the end of March. This is a straightforward bill that gives us the power to do that.” – Reuters Confidence in the economy hits 18 month high as businesses shrug off their Brexit fears Confidence among businesses has soared to an 18-month high as the economy prospers following the Brexit vote. Research group IHS Markit said its index of future expectations among UK firms – where scores above 50 show increasing levels of optimism about the year ahead – rose from 68.9 in December to 71.1 in January. That was the strongest score since August 2015 and 11.9 points higher than the low reached in July last year when dire warnings about the impact of the Brexit vote knocked confidence. – This Is Money Diane Abbott’s absence from Article 50 vote stokes a Labour rebellion Three shadow cabinet ministers resigned to be among the 47 Labour MPs who voted against the measure. Ms Abbott, who represents the heavily pro-Remain constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, claimed she was taken ill hours before the vote. However, she had given an impassioned speech in parliament shortly before. She has not commented since. Senior Labour figures fear that more MPs will feel emboldened to rebel in the final vote on the bill next Wednesday as a result. The leader’s office has not ruled out allowing MPs to abstain. – The Times (£) Michael Gove says Nicola Sturgeon would be ‘foolish’ to call second independence referendum The former Education Secretary in England said that the British people decided to leave the EU because it is dysfunctional and Scots “are not going to vote to leave another union that works”. Mr Gove, who was one of the leaders of the victorious Vote Leave Brexit campaign, said the nationalists’ case for Scotland to leave the UK in order to join the EU was “very weak” on both economic and sovereignty grounds. Among the issues he said had become more difficult for Ms Sturgeon to resolve since 2014 are a separate Scotland’s currency and the financial black hole in its public finances created by the oil price collapse. – Daily Telegraph No quick end to EU migration: Border controls to take years, Brexit White Paper reveals The Whitehall document setting out details of Theresa May’s plans for leaving the EU revealed new entry arrangements could come into force gradually to “give businesses and individuals enough time to plan and prepare”. “There will be a phased process of implementation to prepare for the new arrangements,” the ministerial “white paper” policy document, released yesterday, said. It raised concern among campaigners that the Government may take many years after Brexit to achieve its target of reducing annual net migration to the “tens of thousands”. Publishing the white paper yesterday, EU Exit Secretary David Davis told MPs: “Our best days are still ahead of us.” – Daily Express Daniel Hannan MEP: Brexit is the chance to reform the EU for the good of everyone – if only its rulers could see it We should aim to establish a new status inside the common market but outside the EU’s political structures. Such a status that could then be extended to any other nearby state – not just Iceland and Switzerland but, in time, Morocco, Israel, Ukraine and, more pertinently, other EU countries that wanted to swap full membership for something looser. Would the federalists accept such an outcome? Actually, they were calling for it long before the Brexit vote. Mr Verhofstadt proposed something along those lines, calling it “associate membership”. My guess is that he would rather shed Eurosceptic countries, such as Poland and Denmark, than have them constantly impeding his dream of a United States of Europe. Daniel Hannan MEP for the Daily Telegraph Stephen Crabb MP: As a Tory MP, I urge Theresa May to guarantee the status of EU nationals The fallout from President Trump’s toxic immigration decree has underlined the importance of the values that lie behind any immigration system. Several ministers have rightly condemned the decree as being inconsistent with British values. But with Brexit negotiations just weeks away there is a pressing need for our ministers to start articulating a clear set of interests and values that will underpin our own post-Brexit immigration policy. The referendum outcome was not just about immigration; but for most voters, nothing demonstrated the perceived loss of sovereignty more than the fact that a UK government no longer had full control of its immigration policy. For years the Conservatives fought elections pledging to be tough on immigration without letting on that EU free movement rules meant we had little chance of controlling actual levels. The EU referendum was the first time that voters truly understood the emptiness of our position. – Stephen Crabb MP for The Guardian Helle Hagenau: Dear Britain, don’t make the same mistake Norway did – you don’t want to be inside the EEA Norway does have its own agricultural and fisheries policies outside the EU and within the EEA, but more often than not, we face EU directives and regulations that have to be implemented into Norwegian law because of the EEA. We are not as independent as we sometimes claim and Britain won’t be either if it stays in the EEA. For example, it would still have to obey rulings from the European Court of Justice because the EEA/EFTA Court mirrors its judgements. On June 23rd of last year, the majority of British people voted to leave the European Union. I think it was a very wise and good decision. According to Lord Ashcroft’s poll and the many people I met during the referendum campaign, the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the EU was “the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK”. – Daily Telegraph Brexit comment in brief The UK can’t avoid dealing with Donald Trump – but we must engage intelligently – John Bew for the New Statesman What does Brexit mean? The answer is more complicated than you think – Stephen Bush for the New Statesman Theresa May needs to declare her love for Europe – Tim Montgomerie for CapX Brexit has broken the Corbyn Delusion – Nick Barrett for Politics.co.uk How Conservatives and reformists in Brussels decided the European Parliament’s presidency – Syed Kamall MEP for ConservativeHome Brexit news in brief Watch: Nigel Lawsonsays the EU is terrified a good Brexit deal will encourage others – Bloomberg German firms fear ‘massive cost increases’ – BBC News Swedish foreign minister: You will have to ‘take the consequences’ – BBC News UK must remain under EU law during Brexit transition, diplomats say – The Guardian Brexit and corporate tax changes main risks to Ireland, says IMF – Irish Times Hull MP Alan Johnson on why he voted for Brexit after backing campaign to stay in EU – Hull Daily Mail Weakening pound and Brexit to hit UK airlines – but airports will withstand the storm – Daily Express Ed Balls blames Brexit for his losing Strictly Come Dancing – BBC News