Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May seeks to head off Tory Brexit rebellion tonight by promising to give ‘clarity’ over new laws Pro-European Tory MPs have tabled an amendment to the EU withdrawal bill demanding a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal. Dominic Grieve, a former Attorney General, said that Mrs May is facing the “real possibility” of a defeat over the issue… Mr Grieve, who campaigned for Remain in the referendum, denied his amendment – which would require any final deal with the EU to be approved by a separate act of Parliament – was designed to prevent Brexit happening… Ministers are expected to argue the amendment is unnecessary as they are already committed to tabling a separate bill to implement the main elements of any deal – including the agreements on the financial settlement and future citizens’ rights signed by Mrs May on Friday. Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader, accused Mr Grieve and his supporters of “grandstanding” and trying to tie the Government’s hands in the Brexit talks. “I think this is looking for ways to derail the bill. – Telegraph (£) Procedures for the Approval and Implementation of EU Exit Agreements: Written statement – David Davis/House of Commons Theresa May staring at possible EU Withdrawal Bill defeat in House of Commons – Sky News Theresa May faces potential first defeat on EU Withdrawal Bill – ITV News Theresa May prepares climb down in the biggest battle between ministers and Parliament in two decades – The Sun EU will not produce Brexit trade negotiating guidelines until at least March… The EU will not produce its Brexit negotiating guidelines on the future EU-UK relationship until at least March, it has now emerged. The decision, which was taken at the meeting of EU leaders’ representatives in Brussels on Monday, reflects a determination that Theresa May should clarify the UK’s own demands on trade and the future relations early next year. “We cannot produce our own guidelines until the UK chooses between the options on the table, it is time for clarity,” said an EU negotiator familiar with the EU’s strategy. Although the move could be seen in some quarters as a blow to the UK negotiating position, the Telegraph understands that privately UK negotiators are content to let the EU trade guidelines drift in a bid to create more negotiating space… “The reality is that the hard part for the EU27 comes in the trade talks when they will have to reconcile all their competing interests,” said the UK source. “It suits them also not to get too definitive.” – Telegraph (£) EU: No talks on post-Brexit trade until late March – Politico Donald Tusk calls Brexit talks a furious race against time – BBC News …as Barnier says full trade deal ‘impossible’ by Brexit date By the time the U.K. leaves the European Union it will only be possible to draw up a “political declaration” on the future framework for trade with the bloc, not a full trade deal, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of foreign affairs and EU ministers in Brussels, he said there is not enough time to do anything more detailed, but also that agreeing a full trade deal would be prevented by legal and technical constraints. His comments were in stark contrast to those of the U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis, who told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program on Sunday that barring “minor tinkering” by the time of Britain’s exit date of March 2019, “we would expect the substantive trade deal to be struck.” – Politico David Davis confirms Brexit divorce will become UK law after criticism from Brussels… Senior diplomats and MEPs, along with the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator, unleashed a series of rebukes against Mr Davis over his suggestion that the UK could backtrack on promises made in the divorce agreement, which was finally agreed on Friday after months of deadlocked talks. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit coordinator, accused the Brexit secretary of scoring an “own goal” with the “unacceptable” comments and claimed he had “really undermine[d] trust” between Brussels and London. Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, stressed that there could be “no backtracking” on Britain’s part in the next phase of the talks. “Even if the European Council does recognise sufficient progress we will have a final agreement only if political commitments taken by Theresa May are respected and we will be vigilant,” he said. – Telegraph (£) EU toughens Brexit resolution after David Davis interview – Politico Commission confirms ‘legally binding’ row confected – Guido Fawkes David Davis has ‘undermined trust’ in Brexit deal, claims Guy Verhofstadt – Sky News German minister tells May to stop Brexit double talk – Politico …as European Parliament is set to demand Britain sticks closely to EU rules and keeps paying Brussels long after Brexit The European Parliament will on Wednesday demand Britain promises to stick closely to EU rules and keep paying Brussels long after Brexit. MEPs are likely to back a resolution, obtained by The Telegraph, that says Britain and the EU should sign an association agreement, which would be coupled with a free trade deal. The EU has many such association agreements with other countries. The treaties, which give a legal basis for cooperation, are used in some cases as a preliminary step towards EU membership but also for non European nations such as Libya and Azerbaijan. The draft text, prepared by five pro-EU political groups, insists that MEPs will only accept the association agreement, if it strictly adhered to conditions including “commensurate financial contributions” by Britain. – Telegraph (£) European Parliament says no Brexit transition deal until progress on withdrawal – Politico Brexit transition deal isn’t a done deal – Manfred Weber MEP for Politico Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni calls for ‘tailor-made’ UK-EU trade deal Italy has called on the EU to offer a “tailor-made” Brexit trade deal to the UK, in an accommodating move towards London, even as the bloc toughens its stance on trade and transition talks. “We need a tailor-made model for the relationship between the UK and the EU but the first move, in my opinion, has to come from the UK because the level of ambition needs to come from the side asking to leave,” Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian prime minister, said in an interview in Rome on the first anniversary of his arrival at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian government. Mr Gentiloni’s emphasis on a bespoke model rather than an agreement following the precedent of previous trade deals contrasts with other EU officials. – FT (£) Immigration minister says it ‘will only take minutes’ for EU citizens to register to stay in the UK It will only take a couple of minutes for EU citizens to register online to stay in the UK after Brexit, Home Office minister Brandon Lewis has said. There would, he said, be a “presumption in favour” of approving applications when the process begins late next year and people should hear in two weeks. Rather than having to wade through 85 pages as in the past, he said there would be just six to eight questions. Theresa May has urged all three million EU nationals to stay after March 2019… Mr Lewis told the Lords EU Justice sub-committee that Friday’s agreement meant EU nationals worried about their future “can be confident they do not have to do anything immediately”. – BBC News Fast-track application process to help EU citizens stay in UK – The Times (£) Brexit relocations by City banks set to fall short of fears The UK’s biggest international banks are set to move fewer than 4,600 jobs from London in preparation for Brexit — just 6 per cent of their total workforce in the financial centre — according to Financial Times research. The FT analysis contrasts with consultants’ original claims that tens of thousands of jobs could move from London after Brexit — including an EY study this week that claimed 10,500 could leave on “day one”… In the case of Deutsche Bank, where Sylvie Matherat, head of regulation, publicly said up to 4,000 jobs could move, the FT estimates that just 350 jobs may leave by April 2019. – FT (£) Britain propped up Europe’s defence after other EU states short-changed Nato by £338 billion Britain is propping up Europe’s defence after it emerged other EU states short-changed NATO by an eye-watering £338 billion over the last five years. A new report reveals the UK now accounts for almost a third of all defence spending across the EU. Shelling out £214 billion since 2012, Britain remains just one of five out of 28 alliance members to meet its key 2% of GDP annual target. The research by the Henry Jackson Society think tank reveals just how dependent the rest of the continent is on Britain. Academics last night said it will boost Theresa May’s hand during Brexit negotiations, which will include a security treaty. It emerged that Germany underspent the most, with the Berlin government falling short of its NATO spending target by 39%, or £106bn. – The Sun Jean-Claude Juncker embroiled in criminal investigation over wiretapping in Luxembourg The president of the European Commission is embroiled in a new criminal investigation into claims that “tampered” evidence misled an inquiry into phone-tapping. Jean-Claude Juncker faces accusations that his officials presented inaccurate information under oath in a case involving an alleged illegal wiretap more than ten years ago when he was prime minister of Luxembourg… Last Monday Eric Schammo, an investigating judge, began an inquiry into whether officials working for Mr Juncker falsified key evidence for a parliamentary and then judicial investigation in 2012 and 2013. At the time Mr Juncker was fighting for his political future over a wider scandal including the activities of his country’s spies. He had vociferously denied involvement in their activities, especially wiretapping. – The Times (£) Juncker: An edited transcript of his conversation with Mille and how evidence was ‘redacted’ – The Times (£) Profile: Jean-Claude Juncker renowned for drinking, smoking and sarcasm – The Times (£) Asa Bennett: Brexit has exposed that the EU is run by sensitive snowflakes Negotiators made progress last week by agreeing the terms of Britain’s divorce “under the caveat that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. David Davis pointed out over the weekend that it meant what had been thrashed out was “more a statement of intent than…a legally enforceable thing”. The European Commission agreed, admitting on Tuesday that it was not yet “legally binding”. Yet that has not stopped Eurocrats from boarding the outrage bus today over the Brexit Secretary’s statement of fact… Their outrage may seem confected, but it is a sign of their tactically thin-skinnedness. European politicians know they have supporters on social media, in the political class and among the commentariat, who will unthinkingly leap to their defence if they express their displeasure about something coming out of London. That way, they hope to be able to turn the thumbscrews on Theresa May and put her Government under more pressure in this negotiating process – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Peter Foster: Why the second stage of Brexit will be the hard part – for the EU The next phase will be very different. Preparing what Donald Tusk, the European Council president calls a “preliminary and preparatory” framework for the future EU-UK trading relationship will see member states interests being pitted directly against each other. When it comes to showing flexibility on customs or the Common Transit Convention for speeding goods across borders, nations with hard goods trade with the UK – say the Netherlands or Belgium – will be pushing for a far more relaxed approach than less exposed states who will seek to cling harder to EU core principles… Given the disagreements that already exist among the EU 27 – on immigration, on eurozone burden-sharing and the nasty post-Brexit budget negotiation to come – the potential for EU27 tensions and divisions is privately accepted by EU negotiators. “It will be a very difficult process; the truth is it will not be easy to control, and privately everyone knows it,” concedes a senior EU negotiator who was often heard to disparage ‘chaotic’ British negotiators during the first phase of the talks. – Peter Foster for the Telegraph (£) Stephen Booth: Is a Canada-esque trade deal with the EU the best option for Britain post-Brexit? Remaining fully aligned with the Single Market would mean accepting EU rules for the entire UK economy in perpetuity, without a say over them. That would mean less democratic accountability than we had as an EU member. We must also leave the Customs Union to control our own trade policy. Canada’s trade deal with the EU is the most comprehensive that Brussels has negotiated, and is a good starting point. Critics point out that it would impose some friction on UK-EU trade, as it provides limited liberalisation for services, upon which the UK and the EU should improve… Ultimately, the UK’s deal will be unique. But Canada is a good start. – Stephen Booth for City A.M. Rafael Behr: Labour will have to make a choice on Brexit, and soon Such calculated ambiguity has served Labour well so far. The party fought the June election with a manifesto that was explicitly but not ostentatiously pro-Brexit, and a campaign that steered debate elsewhere. Labour reassured leavers in its traditional heartland seats that it would not undo the referendum result, while scooping up votes from remainers whose urgent motive was thwarting May. The electoral alliance that deprived the Tories of a majority is a patchwork of anti-Conservative feeling, masking contradictory attitudes towards the EU and the Labour leader… For McDonnell the calculation is different. He sees EU rules that promote market competition and prohibit some forms of industrial subsidy as impediments to Labour’s renationalising ambitions for the economy. But he also wants to be an unthreatening candidate for the chancellor’s job… McDonnell is pragmatic enough to dial down his distaste for European institutions if that helps defuse the City’s terror of a Corbynite government. – Rafael Behr for the Guardian Labour must say it: Britain should stay in the single market after Brexit – Chuka Ummuna MP for the Guardian Brendan O’Neill: Let’s hear the good news about Brexit more often In my lifetime, I cannot remember any thing or idea or person getting as bad a press as Brexit has. It’s relentless. It’s not daily — it’s hourly, minutely, by the second… No doubt reporters and columnists will say they’re doing their job and reporting uncomfortable facts. But to me — and, I imagine, to many people outside of the media bubble — it smacks of the politics of fear… Worse, this minute-by-minute handwringing over Brexit exposes the gaping chasm that now separates media opinion from public opinion… So while Brexit-fear becomes a staple of the 24-hour news roll, the engine to a thousand think-pieces, out there, beyond the bubble, people still want Brexit. They believe in Brexit. Polls continually show that the vast majority of Leave voters would vote Leave again. – Brendan O’Neill for the Spectator Brexit comment in brief A triumph of ambiguity. What the EU deal means for the UK-Ireland land border – Graham Gudgin and Ray Bassett for ConservativeHome May is stronger than hardline Brexiteers think – Danny Finkelstein for The Times (£) To save Brexit, Hammond must go – Rupert Darwall for CapX Bregrets? Why Britain has had few over Europe – Sebastian Payne for the FT (£) Brexit news in brief UK has a month to clarify post-Brexit aviation safety plans to avoid potential disruption, US official warns – Telegraph BBC hypes gloomy Brexit report by EU-funded think tank – Guido Fawkes Allies urge Cabinet reshuffle as May looks to exploit Brussels bounce – FT (£) North England looks to the wind to power growth after Brexit – Politico Is Brexiteer posing as Santa best MP’s Xmas card? – Sky News