British MEP and now well-known pro-Brexit activist Nigel Farage appeared all smiles on Wednesday 29 January at a press conference in the European Parliament, welcoming the end of his term as MEP and predicting the departure of other Member States in the coming years.
This conference on the subject of “Brexodus” – for Brexit and ‘exodus’ – took place a few hours before the Parliament vote to ratify the withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU.
Mr Farage did not dwell on this deadline, pointing out that the main event this week would be Friday 31 January, the official date of the departure of the British.
Brexit was, in his view, a “victory for grassroots campaigning” over the British establishment. “So I’m going to be celebrating the fact that democracy and the will of the people has triumphed at 11 o’clock this Friday”, the Brexit Party chairman said.
While others in Parliament want to believe that the British will one day be reintegrated into the EU (see other news), Mr Farage, for his part, argues that a point of no return has been reached.
More Brexits to come. “I believe that Brexit will give rise to a lively debate over the next few years. Other countries will in turn ask themselves: do we want a Europe led by the European Commission or do we want a Europe that is a cooperation of sovereign nations?” he predicted, hoping that the “courage” shown by the British would inspire others.
According to Mr Farage, the next countries likely to be affected are Denmark, Italy and Poland. “Denmark is very similar to the UK”, he argued, citing several “Danish exceptions”. Italy, he believes, will not be able to withstand the next euro crisis. As for the Poles, a majority of them declare that the EU has a negative influence on their country, according to a recent opinion poll quoted by the eurosceptic.
“I do believe the Brexit is the beginning of a total reconfiguration of how Europe is organised”, he added.
Real Brexit. Asked what he expected from the forthcoming negotiations on the future relationship between the two parties, Nigel Farage recalled that he was counting on the implementation of the “real Brexit”.
‘Real Brexit’ means, according to him, “no longer being under the constraint of the European Court of Justice, being aligned in terms of regulation, being independent for our policies”.
Mr Farage has undertaken to monitor this closely. The Brexit Party will continue to exist, he assures. And if the current government “drop the ball again, I will make sure that I’ll be there to catch it”, he said.
The MEP conceded with a smile that he would miss not being “the pantomime villain” in the Parliament anymore. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki – intern)