14 June, 2017
A chastened Prime Minister Theresa May made progress Tuesday in securing a deal with a small Northern Ireland party with whom she hopes to govern, just days after a catastrophic election wiped out her majority in Parliament.
Earlier, Foster said the talks were going well: "We hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion."May made clear the Brexit negotiations would begin on schedule despite the political uncertainty at home."I confirmed to President Macron that the timetable for the Brexit negotiation remains on course and will begin next week", May said after her meeting with the new French leader, who will be a key player in the Brexit talks."I think there is a unity of objective among people in the United Kingdom".
May has dismissed calls to resign following the dismal election result after calling a vote three years early in the hope of bolstering her slim majority ahead of the Brexit talks.
Discussions in Westminster are continuing without Theresa May after she left for Paris for a pre-arranged meeting with newly elected president Emmanuel Macron. "I think it's much more likely that the party will be looking for money in order to benefit Northern Ireland".
Amid calls from some MPs for the Conservatives to rethink their Brexit strategy, he said there was a "clear consensus" for leaving the single market and ending free movement while retaining the "maximum access" to European Union markets and maintaining co-operation in key areas such as science.
The negotiations with the DUP revolve around support from the party on a vote-by-vote basis in parliament, rather than a formal coalition government.
London's neutrality is key to the delicate balance of power in Northern Ireland, which was once plagued by violence over Britain's control of the province.
The discussions, which have so far lasted for nearly two hours, have now moved from No 10 to Parliament in order for the Prime Minister to speak in the Commons.
Despite this, the party's seven MPs have stressed they will not be taking their seats in the Commons, and claimed doing so would be against the wishes of those who voted them into office.
"So there is a lot of anxiety and a lot of fear out of what is being discussed".
As May attempts to cobble together a majority, the EU's Michel Barnier said he would hold talks with British envoy Olly Robbins on Tuesday to organise the negotiations. "It's passing quicker than anyone believes That's why we're ready to start very quickly". "I can't negotiate with myself".
"We are impatiently waiting for the negotiating position of the United Kingdom gov (ernment)".
In Strasbourg where members of the European Parliament are holding the monthly plenary, MEPs seem broadly frustrated and impatient by Britain's domestic politics and the delay they are causing. "The current uncertainty can not continue", he said on Twitter.
May's spokesman said it remained government policy to cut net migration to under 100,000 and Brexit Minister David Davis also said walking away without securing a deal with the remaining 27 European Union states remained a possibility.
It means that Theresa May will remain as prime minister and the DUP MPs will be central to the survival of a Conservative Party administration.
The draft law would empower Europe to decide if post-Brexit London has the right to host financial market "clearing houses" that deal in euros, the EU's single currency.
