Brexit news latest: Donald Tusk urges UK to accept offer of 'Canada +++' Brexit deal which has 'been on the table since the very beginning'

Ella Wills4 October 2018
WEST END FINAL

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The President of the European Council has urged the UK to accept the EU's offer of a Canada-style Brexit deal, which he said has been on the table "from the very beginning".

In a tweet, Donald Tusk said the EU was offering Britain a "Canada plus plus plus" arrangement - something he dubbed "a true measure of respect".

Mr Tusk wrote: "From the very beginning, the EU offer has been a Canada+++ deal. Much further-reaching on trade, internal security and foreign policy cooperation.

"This is a true measure of respect. And this offer remains in place."

It comes as Mr Tusk sharply criticised what he called "emotional" and "insulting" statements about the EU by British ministers in comments after he met the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar in Brussels on Thursday.

European Council President Donald Tusk, left, and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar met in Brussels on Thursday
AP

Speaking to reporters, Mr Tusk first explained that the UK could have not just a free trade accord like that with Canada but also extremely close relations in security, foreign policy and other areas.

He said: ""The EU wants a relationship with the UK that is as close and special as possible.

"From the very beginning, the EU offer has been not just a Canada deal, but a Canada plus plus plus deal."

He then addressed the UK Government's rejecting EU proposals for keeping Northern Ireland inside EU economic rules, calling for an end to "confrontation" in negotiations.

Mr Tusk said: "Emotional arguments that stress the issue of dignity sound attractive but they do not facilitate agreement. Every actor in this process has their dignity, and confrontation in this field will not lead to anything good.

"No one can expect that because of Brexit, the EU will give up its fundamental values and key interests."

Referring to clashes after EU leaders met Prime Minister Theresa May at a summit in Salzburg two weeks ago, Mr Tusk urged her to work towards a final agreement by the next summit in Brussels in two weeks.

Noting his own experience as a political party leader, the former Polish prime minister said that now Mrs May had concluded her Conservatives' annual conference on Wednesday it was time to "get down to business".

He then denounced comments by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt earlier in the week in which he likened the EU negotiating stance on Brexit to the Soviet Union's refusal to let states secede.

"Comparing the European Union to the Soviet Union is as unwise as it is insulting," Mr Tusk said. "As the president of the European Council and someone who spent half of my life in the Soviet bloc, I know what I'm talking about."

"Unacceptable remarks that raise the temperature will achieve nothing except wasting more time. What needs to be done is maximum progress by the October European Council."

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