Emmanuel Macron 'to tell EU leaders to agree Brexit deal with UK'

Emmanuel Macron will urge European leaders to agree a Brexit deal and is developing proposals that could see the UK remain closely aligned with the EU, according to reports.

The French president is said to be ready to put forward a vision of the bloc and its allies as a series of “concentric circles”, with Britain closely tied to the 27 “core” EU member states.

He will reportedly use a summit in Salzburg, Austria, next month to announce the plan, which would see the EU and Eurozone countries surrounded by close allies such as Britain in a second “ring”.

It comes as reports suggest the French leader is increasingly concerned that a no-deal Brexit would “poison relations” between European countries.

Mr Macron’s intervention will be seen as a boost for Theresa May and marks one of the most significant calls from a major European leader for a close relationship between Britain and the EU after Brexit.

With time running out for a Brexit deal to be reached, British ministers have adopted a strategy of lobbying European leaders to urge Brussels officials to compromise and agree to the UK’s Chequers proposals.

It had previously been reported that Mr Macron was among staunch opponents of the plan, which would see the UK adopt a “common rulebook” for goods and collect customs duties on behalf of the EU.

In a sign that his stance may be softening, however, a diplomatic source told The Times: “He sees a no-deal scenario as something that would break links and poison relations at a time when Europe needs to be united beyond the EU.”

The chances of a deal being reached were given a further boost on Wednesday when Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said he would offer the UK a trade deal “such as there has never been” and insisted he wanted to keep ties with Britain “as close as possible”.

However, any agreement that keeps Britain closely tied to the EU will be strongly opposed by Tory Brexiteers, who insist that Britain must have a clean break from the bloc.

President Macron is expected to use the European Council meeting in Salzburg on 20 September to stress the need for the EU to maintain a strong relationship with the UK, although council president Donald Tusk is said to have not yet agreed to the French president’s request to present his plan.

It comes after weeks of lobbying by UK ministers of their French counterparts as the government attempts to build European support for its Chequers plan.

Ms May travelled to Mr Macron’s holiday home earlier this month, while her de facto deputy, David Lidington, yesterday warned French business leaders that the proposals were the only alternative to a no-deal Brexit.

Speaking at the Mouvement des Entreprises de France conference, Mr Lidington said: “We face the choice between the pragmatic proposals we are discussing now with the European Commission or no deal.

“This is a time when Europe – Europe inside the EU and Europe outside the EU – needs to pull together to embrace the spirit of unity and cooperation that has been the cause of our success for more than half a century.”