PM meeting with European Council President at G7: 25 August 2019

The PM today met with European Council President Donald Tusk in the margins of the G7 summit in France.

The PM repeated that the UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October whatever the circumstances. We must respect the referendum result.

The PM said the UK would prefer to leave with a deal but the current Withdrawal Agreement will not get through Parliament.

The PM said the deal is anti-democratic. The people of Northern Ireland would have no say in rules covering large swathes of their economy and it would actually be harder for us to exit the new arrangement than it is to leave the EU itself.

The PM said we will work in an energetic and determined way to get a better deal and we are very willing to sit down to talk with the EU and member states about what needs to be done to achieve that.

The PM and the President also discussed foreign policy, including Iran and Russia, and stressed the importance of upholding the rules-based international system.

The PM said that, post-October 31, the UK will remain a close partner and strong ally of the EU.

The PM and President said they would both be attending the UN General Assembly next month and would meet again there.