Brussels, 05/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, cruised the supporters of the idea of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union who then resigned after winning the British referendum. Juncker was speaking on Tuesday 5 July during a debate at the European Parliament plenary in Strasbourg on the outcome of the European Summit.
Juncker was alluding to Nigel Farage, the head of UKIP, who has resigned as head of the party while remaining an MEP, and also to former London mayor Boris Johnson, who has given up his ambitions to become prime minister, betrayed by his Brexit companion, Michael Gove. Juncker pointed the finger at the sorry heroes who caused the result in the UK but who are now abandoning the stage one after another, Johnson, Forage and others. He said that in reality they were 'retro-nationalists' rather than patriots because patriots do not leave the ship when the going gets tough. They remain, pointed out Juncker.
Juncker, who was formerly the prime minister of Luxembourg, and the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, pointed out that no negotiations with the United Kingdom would start until London has notified the UK's desire to leave the EU (EUROPE 11582). No negotiations on the future of the relations between the two sides would be held during the divorce stage, added Tusk. Juncker said that the time had not come as part of the reflection on the future of the EU27 for a reform of the European treaties but rather for a speeding up of the European reform agenda (see other article).
The Commission president swept aside criticisms of himself (EUROPE 11586). “Why should I resign?” he asked, not seeing how the Commission could be responsible for Brexit. He criticised the “simplistic” statements reported in the British media that he had “demanded the independence of Scotland” or called for the disappearance of nation states.
The 'Grand Coalition' backs Juncker. Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) doesn't understand the criticisms of Juncker, pointing out that the Commission has been doing good work for two years, under Juncker's leadership. During the British referendum campaign, everyone had agreed to ask the Commission to keep out of the debate, he added, so criticising 'Brussels' for its silence was incomprehensible and 'Brussels' couldn't be held responsible for a decision taken by Britain. On behalf of the S&D, Italy's Gianni Pittella defended Jean-Claude Juncker, a fervent partisan of the Community Method. Pittella said the some people want to replace this political Commission with a Commission of simple bureaucrats, remotely controlled by their capitals]. Slamming “rats leaving the ship”, Belgium's Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) promised an EP report after the summer break on how the EU can be regenerated by returning to the ideals of the founding fathers. The EU will die if it doesn't change, said the head of the liberals at the EP.
Syed Kamall, the head of the CRE group, who wants the UK to leave the EU, criticised the way the EU was following an agenda of a United States of Europe going back to the 1950s. Citizens in 2016 want a Commission that takes action on the problems of today, he argued.
Supporters of the idea of leaving the EU criticised Europe for increasingly giving way to the 'integrationist' temptation and confiscating, as National Front parliamentarian Bruno Gollnish of France put it, mentioning the example of the free-trade deal with Canada.
A new British Commissioner. According to the Financial Times, British prime minister David Cameron is about to appoint the current UK ambassador to France, Sir Julian King, as replacement for Commissioner Jonathan Hill, whose resignation becomes effective on 15 July (see other article). Cameron agreed with Juncker at the recent summit that a British Commissioner would be appointed to fill the post until the UK actually leaves Europe. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Lionel Changeur)