UK can’t keep full access to EU, says Macron
This special way should be consistent with the preservation of the single market and our collective interests Emmanuel Macron,
London, Jan. 20: French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested that Britain is likely to negotiate a unique relationship with the European Union before it leaves the bloc next year, while stressing that any agreement must be consistent with EU rules.
In remarks released Saturday, Macron told the BBC’s Andrew Marr television program that Britain cannot maintain its full access to the EU’s single market if it doesn’t accept the bloc’s founding principles, including the free movement of people and the jurisdiction of EU courts.
“This special way should be consistent with the preservation of the single market and our collective interests,” he said. “And you should understand that you cannot, by definition, have the full access to the single market if you don’t tick the box.’’
That means Britain must continue to contribute to the EU budget and accept the four freedoms guaranteed by the bloc free movement of people, goods, services and capital if it wants to maintain full access to the single market, Macron said. The full interview will be broadcast Sunday.
The comments undermine the position of some Brexit supporters who want to regain control of the UK’s borders and shun the oversight of European courts while retaining access to the single market.
It will also dash the hopes of some in Britain who thought Macron might be more flexible than German Chancellor Angela Merkel in negotiating a deal. Macron’s influence within the EU is on the rise as Merkel’s position weakens following an election in September that eroded her power base. Merkel has still not been able to cobble together a coalition government even after months of talks with other political parties.
Mr Macron’s comments echo those he made during a meeting Thursday in which he and British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged closer cooperation on defense and border security after Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. Tokyo, Jan. 20: The operator of Fukushima’s crippled nuclear power plant has released fresh images of the wreckage inside a damaged reactor, showing broken metal parts and debris that could be melted fuel.
Tokyo Electric Power Co ( TEPCO) inserted a special camera into one of the plant’s three melteddown reactors on Friday, a company spokesman said, as part of its efforts to dismantle the disasterhit facility in northeastern Japan.
Images captured by the camera and released late Friday show rubble spread over the bottom of the unit, including part of a fuel container and rocklike fragments that could contain melted nuclear fuel.
Locating fuel debris is a key part of the plant’s d e c o m m i s s i o n i n g process, which is expected to take decades.
Due to extremely high radiation levels, TEPCO has struggled to inspect the reactors which melted down when the plant was hit by a huge tsunami in March 2011.
However it has recently succeeded in using cameras to visually monitor inside the units, last year releasing similar pictures of suspected fuel debris at the No. 3 reactor.
“The success in taking the latest pictures was another milestone for our d e c o m m i s s i o n i n g process,” the spokesman told AFP, adding that the operator plans to begin removing the debris in 2021.
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France President