May will speak in the historic Italian city on Friday 22 September “to update on Brexit negotiations so far”, the prime minister’s spokesman said. May’s spokesman gave no further details of what the prime minister would be saying and whether the speech would include any new information or proposals. May will be travelling to Italy purely to make the speech, which is not tied in to any bilateral talks or conferences. The list of attendees has yet to be announced, but Downing Street has informed the office of the Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, about the event. May’s speech in Florence will be scrutinised to see if this stance has softened following a tricky start to Brexit talks during which senior EU figures have expressed frustration over the UK’s demands and approach.

Source: The Guardian September 13, 2017 21:22 UTC