Boris Johnson warns
French president François Hollande against trying to ‘administer
punishment beatings’ in the manner of ‘some world war two movie’
to any country that tries to leave the EU. Speaking in Delhi on
Wednesday, the foreign secretary was responding to comments from one
of Hollande’s aides who said Britain should not expect a better
trading relationship with Europe once it is outside the EU
We’re
not out to punish Britain, but you need to shed your illusions
Guy Verhofstadt
Although
the EU will negotiate a fair deal, the days of Europe à la carte are
over
Guy Verhofstadt is
chief Brexit negotiator for the European parliament
Wednesday 18 January
2017 20.10 GMT
Brexit really does
mean Brexit. Theresa May’s long-awaited speech this week finally
outlined some of her government’s negotiating objectives. Now we
know that Britain wants to leave the European single market it helped
to create, the customs union, and the European Union as a whole.
With only a few
weeks left to the likely invoking of article 50, triggering the start
of talks on Britain’s withdrawal, this clarity was much needed, and
will help EU governments and the European parliament to prepare for
the discussions to come. I have no doubt, however, that the process
we are about to embark on will be a challenging one.
The EU will work in
a frank and open manner to help deliver a Brexit that is least
harmful for all concerned, but we must be honest with each other too:
the days of UK cherry-picking and a Europe à la carte are over.
Contrary to the
deeply unhelpful comments by the British foreign secretary Boris
Johnson yesterday, who suggested that François Hollande was trying
to “administer punishment beatings” in the manner of “some
world war two movie”, no one in Europe wants to “punish” either
Britain or the British. I have never heard any MEP or European leader
call for this, in private or public.
But it is an
illusion to suggest that the UK will be permitted to leave the EU but
then be free to opt back into the best parts of the European project,
for instance by asking for zero tariffs from the single market
without accepting the obligations that come with it. I hope that
British people will
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