Theresa May can still deliver her Chequers plan – but the EU must help her find the space for diplomacy

If there is a faint air of desperation in the British ministerial assault on the chancelleries and presidential palaces of Europe this summer, it only reflects the mood that now hangs over the Brexit negotiations after a bitter week of post-Chequers talks in Brussels.

Usually the fanning out of ministers is billed as a diplomatic “charm offensive”, but that would be a misnomer here: there is a bluntness to the language of Jeremy Hunt, Philip Hammond and Theresa May as they urge the EU to consider their Chequers Brexit plan.

“France and Germany have to send a strong signal to the Commission that we need to negotiate a pragmatic and sensible outcome,” warned Mr Hunt. No need to read between the…

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