European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker got seriously cornered within the European Union after the details of his meeting with the UK Prime Minister Theresa May appeared in a German news tabloid. After German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) was given detailed information about the nature of the discussions, a diplomatic row erupted. It reported that EU officials and Mr. Juncker were surprised that Theresa May did not appear to be fully briefed on the meeting and claimed she had unrealistic expectations about the length and process of negotiations. The Prime Minister was said to have refused to accept that the UK owed the EU billions of euros, saying there was no such demand in EU treaties. She was told in response that the EU was “not a golf club”. Mr. Juncker said that he left the meeting being 10 times more skeptical of a possible deal between the EU and the UK.
The leaks drew sharp criticism from both UK and many member countries of the European Union. While Prime Minister May pointed at the mistrust at the beginning of the talks many member countries within the European Union pointed that Juncker may not be a good representative of their interest in the Brexit negotiation. The German chancellor Angela Markel, the most powerful figure in the EU reportedly expressed his displeasure of such a hostile beginning of the talks.
Under pressure, Mr. Juncker had to admit that leaking the details of the meeting was a serious mistake, though he denied that he was responsible for that. However, it is widely believed that either Mr. Juncker or his spokesperson to have released the information.
