Brussels, 19/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Over the weekend, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, acknowledged the idea that the United Kingdom could eventually leave the EU. On a trip to Paris, the Luxembourger said that “people shouldn't stay together if the conditions are no longer the same as when things started. It is easy to fall in love, it is harder to stay together”, the English-language media reported. “I am in favour of the respect of the member states, respect between institutions and the member states. I am against all forms of 'fawning”, Juncker said.
A member of the EU since 1973, the United Kingdom has recently been accused of blackmailing the EU over the free movement of Europeans, with David Cameron having called for a revision of the European Treaties as a condition of the referendum he will hold in 2017 on his country's relationship with the EU. Juncker has confirmed that he would not debate any reform of the freedom of movement rules, which are “a red line which cannot be crossed”. (SP)