'Sorry, no cherries'
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday accused EU Council President Donald Tusk of "insulting the British people" by needling Prime Minister Theresa May in a viral social media post.
Tusk created a mini-sensation during a difficult EU summit on Brexit in Salzburg by posting a photo on Instagram of himself offering May a tray of cakes.
"A piece of cake, perhaps?" Tusk wrote alongside the picture. "Sorry, no cherries."
The comment was a biting reference to accusations by Brussels that May was "cherry-picking" the best parts of EU membership while leaving the bloc.
Her divorce proposal envisions a UK-EU free trade area for goods through a common rulebook.
But it would abandon the bloc's right to the free movement of people and see Britain adopt its own migration policy.
The EU wants to make sure the remaining 27 members do not follow Britain's example by trying to leave while preserving the benefits of free trade.
May's plan was rebuffed in Salzburg on Thursday and Tusk's post only added to what several British newspapers called her "humiliation".
The prime minister tried to regain her footing by delivering a tough television address on Friday demanding that Britain be treated with "respect".
That message was picked up and taken a step further by Hunt in an appearance on the BBC's Today radio programme on Saturday.
"Don't mistake British politeness for weakness," Hunt said.
Tusk issued a statement on Friday evening calling himself "a close friend of the UK and a true admirer of PM May". French President Emmanuel Macron had earlier mocked some pro-Brexit British politicians as "liars.”
How the two sides intend to move forward with the clock ticking down to the March 29 Brexit deadline remains unclear.
Pressure is mounting on May from eurosceptics in her Tory party to abandon the so-called "Chequers" proposal for a less ambitious one that would not maintain such close EU-UK ties.
The Daily Telegraph reported that ministers intended to use a cabinet meeting on Monday to call on May to develop a "Plan B" alternative to Chequers.
May continued to insist on Friday that there were only two options on the table: trying to find a compromise on her proposal or no deal at all.
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