William Hague warns Emmanuel Macron not to stand in way of Brexit deal

'In the world of a rising China and a less reliable America, Britain and France will need each other more,' former foreign secretary says

Former foreign secretary William Hague has warned Emmanuel Macron that it is not in French interests to stand in the way of Britain's attempts to secure a favourable Brexit deal.

After Theresa May cut short her holiday to meet the French president at Fort de Bregancon, Lord Hague said it was clear ministers had identified France as the "biggest national obstacle" to an agreement.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the former Tory leader predicted the president would continue to maintain a "hard line" on the negotiations - comparing him to Charles de Gaulle who blocked Britain's membership of the Common Market in the 1960s.

However, he argued that at a time of global change, the two countries needed each other more than ever while the failure by the European Union (EU) to secure a "special relationship" with the UK after it has left would damage its own chances of survival.

"In the world of a rising China and a less reliable America, Britain and France will need each other more," he said. "Brexit is a big complication, but if the EU is incapable of forging a special relationship with its closest, largest democratic neighbour, even when it is offered one, its chances of surviving the 21st century will be diminished."

Lord Hague acknowledged the president's advisers would probably tell him France stood to gain by attracting banking jobs from London while shutting out the UK from the Galileo satellite system.

"Like us, they try not to choose between their conflicting feelings about a historic foe, but when they have to, they put Europe's unity and a chance to get ahead of the UK before their fondness for us," he said. "That was dramatically illustrated by de Gaulle in the 1960s, even though no French leader has ever had more cause to be grateful to us. In all probability, Macron will demonstrate it again."

However, while most economists predicted the UK would be the biggest losers in the event of a "no deal", Lord Hague questioned whether the French could be sure that they would not also suffer as well.

"Is France so sure of an expanding economy that it can afford that? The eurozone actually grew a little more slowly than the UK in the most recent quarter. And, come the next recession, fragile Italian banks are going to need access to London's capital markets," he said.

There were "countless other reasons" why a French leader should worry, he added, including the hundreds of thousands of citizens potentially caught in a legal limbo and the disruption to ports and airports.

"Within Britain, many of us who have advocated pragmatic solutions to Brexit would switch to calling for this country to maximise its competitive advantage against the rest of Europe in every way possible - open the freeports, make financial regulation more attractive for those locating in the UK and halt payments to the EU budget," he said.

Nevertheless Lord Hague acknowledged that Mrs May and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt were right to "throw everything" at influencing Mr Macron in their efforts to "unlock a change of attitude" in Brussels.

"Around the EU, other leaders lack the will, the power or the imagination to break the deadlock," he said.

"Angela Merkel shows few signs of taking ownership of any European vision of future relations with Britain. Dutch and Nordic leaders are well disposed but not powerful."

Press Association