Boris Johnson resignation: EU frustration at 'mess' caused by Theresa May's political meltdown

Commission president Juncker responds sarcastically to claims of UK cabinet unity

The EU’s two highest-ranking officials have expressed frustration at the meltdown in Theresa May’s cabinet following the resignation of her foreign secretary and chief Brexit negotiator.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, responded sarcastically to the news that Boris Johnson has quit over the UK’s new Brexit policy.

“This clearly proves that at Chequers there was unity of views in the British cabinet,” he told reporters, referencing last Friday’s meeting of the British cabinet to agree a policy on Brexit.

Mr Juncker had spoken to Ms May on the telephone at 5pm on Sunday, apparently for reassurance about the deal struck at Chequers – just hours before David Davis quit as Brexit Secretary.

Speaking at the same press event on Monday, European Council president Donald Tusk said that it was unfortunate that the whole “idea of Brexit has not left together with David Davis”.

Mr Tusk added: “The mess caused by Brexit is the biggest problem in the history of EU-UK relations and it is still very far from being resolved, with or without Mr Davis.”

Asked about Mr Johnson’s departure when it became known minutes later, Mr Tusk said his response applied to both Brexiteers.

Earlier in the day a spokesperson for the European Commission had said Mr Davis’s departure as Britain’s chief negotiator was not a problem for Brussels, but suggested that it could be one for the UK.

This clearly proves that at Chequers there was unity of views in the British Cabinet

Jean-Claude Juncker on Boris Johnson’s resignation, sarcastically

Though the Commission has responded cooly to the political chaos in Westminster, behind the scenes EU officials are concerned about the stability of Ms May’s government and whether it will be fit to negotiate with.

Asked whether Mr Davis’s resignation is a problem for the EU, Margaritis Schinas, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, told reporters : “Not for us,” adding: “We are here to work.”

But he added: “I think it matters a lot for the UK side because this is the person that would be the counterpart to our chief negotiator, and I think it matters a lot.

“What matters for us is the negotiating framework that our 27 member states have set for us, and with which we are complying fully.”

Asked whether the Commission was concerned with the changes at the top, he said: “It is very clear that our position has always been very cool.

“We avoided positioning the Commission in terms of psychological elements: concern, enthusiasm, disappoint and so on. We are here to do a job – the time scale is tight, everyone knows this.”

Boris Johnson and David Davis leaving 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting (PA)

Elaborating, he added: “Experience shows that the commitment at the political level facilitates the process. But then again I’m not here to indicate a preference.”

Mr Davis has been sidelined from Brexit talks since December, and only visited Brussels twice in 2018 to meet EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, as well as having one meeting in London. Mr Barnier is currently in the United States for meetings and the Commission spokesperson declined to confirm when he would speak to Mr Davis’s newly appointed replacement, Dominic Raab.

Mr Johnson’s departure occurred in full view of the European political establishment: the foreign secretary stood up EU foreign ministers who had travelled to London for a summit on the future of the Western Balkans, where he was scheduled to speak before he quit.

Mr Davis’s departure was announced at just before 1am Brussels time (midnight UK time) on Monday morning. In his resignation letter, the outgoing Brexit secretary said he disagreed with the UK government’s new Brexit policy, decided in a cabinet meeting at the PM’s country retreat Chequers.

He said it was now looking “less and less likely” that the government could “deliver on the mandate of the referendum, and on our manifesto commitment to leave the customs union and the single market”.

“The general direction of policy will leave us in at best a weak negotiating position, and possibly an inescapable one,” he added.

He was followed out of the door by two of the other five ministers at the Department for Exiting the European Union, meaning the majority of ministers had quit the department.

His replacement was announced on Monday morning as Tory MP Dominic Raab, a right-winger who has previously called for the scrapping of EU employment protections on British workers.

The PM’s spokesperson has said she will fight any no-confidence vote against her by Tory rebels.