Crunch time as PM seeks to unite warring cabinet on Brexit

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek Friday to finally unite her warring ministers behind a Brexit plan and unblock negotiations with the European Union, amid warnings she is running out of time to get a deal.
Less than nine months before Britain leaves the bloc, May's government has yet to set out exactly what it wants amid very public splits about how close to stay aligned to the EU's rules.
The lack of progress has frustrated European leaders, who are stepping up preparations in case there is no agreement at all, and businesses who are being increasingly vocal about the risks to jobs and investment.
May hopes to finally settle the issue during a day-long cabinet meeting at Chequers, the 16th-century manor house that serves as her official country retreat, before publishing a detailed blueprint for Brexit next week.
"The cabinet meets at Chequers today to agree the shape of our future relationship with the European Union," May said in a statement.
During a visit to Berlin on Thursday she said an agreement would "enable the pace and intensity of the negotiations to increase".
May was visiting Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of a fortnight of diplomatic activity ahead of the Chequers meeting, which included talks with the bloc's president Donald Tusk.
Agreeing a common position among her divided ministers is only one element of the Brexit process — the hardest part will be getting agreement from Brussels, which has repeatedly warned Britain to lower its expectations.
The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said last week he wanted to see "workable and realistic proposals", while Tusk said: "This is the last call to lay the cards on the table".

'This is not Brexit'
Leaked proposals suggest May will propose to keep and commit to future EU rules on trade in goods, an outcome intended in part to fulfil a pledge to avoid customs checks on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
By contrast it will accept "reduced market access" for services — Britain's dominant sector — in return for greater flexibility, reports suggest.
The plan caused outrage among eurosceptic MPs in May's Conservative party, with one fuming that "this is not Brexit" and another saying it would leave Britain "out of Europe but still run by Europe".
"This common rulebook means that we are essentially a vassal state," leading eurosceptic backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
They raised particular concerns that alignment on goods would restrict Britain's ability to sign trade deals with non-EU countries such as the United States, which for many is the chief reason for leaving the EU.
May's approach has in the past been publicly challenged by Brexit-backing ministers in her cabinet such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, while Brexit Secretary David Davis has threatened to resign several times.
The question is whether they can accept May's plan, amid warnings that continued in-fighting may prompt a revolt in parliament, where most MPs are against Brexit.
"If they can't decide, it will be up the Commons to take control," one pro-European MP told AFP. — AFP