UK's EU exit embroiled in 'threats' row on first day

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The head of Britain’s EU exit team was forced to defend Prime Minister Theresa May against claims of making threats against the bloc on Thursday, local media reported.

In what seemed to be the first snag since May handed the EU official notice of the U.K.’s departure on Wednesday, Guy Verhofstadt, the chief EU negotiator in the Brexit process, criticized May for “threats” made in her letter.

“A big mistake that we could make from both sides is to start with launching threats to each other,” he told broadcaster Sky News.

“I find the letter of Mrs. May very constructive, generally, but there is also one threat in it, in saying ‘Look, we want also to cooperate with you on security issues in our common fight against terrorism but you have to give us a good deal on trade and economy.’

“It doesn't work like that -- you cannot use, or abuse, I should say, the security of citizens to have then a good deal on something else.”

In her letter invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to initiate Brexit, May said a failure to reach a trade agreement at the same time as exit discussions “would mean our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened.”

Brexit Secretary David Davis defended the prime minister against the charge that she had tried to “blackmail” the EU.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: “What the prime minister was saying was that if we have no deal, and we want a deal, it’s bad for both of us.

“If we don’t have a deal, what we are going to lose is the current arrangement on justice and home affairs.”

Meanwhile, following a telephone conversation with May, French President Francois Hollande stressed the need to focus on Britain’s “obligations” to the remaining EU members.

The negotiations must be held in a “clear and constructive manner, so as to lift uncertainties and to fully respect the rules and interests of the 27-member European Union,” he said in a statement released by the Elysee Palace.

It added: “The president indicated that the talks must at first be about the terms of withdrawal, dealing especially with citizens’ rights and obligations resulting from the commitments made by the United Kingdom.”

* Hajer M'tiri contributed to this report from Paris.