The gloating of Brussels
Fury as shameless EU officials queue up to mock ‘the flight of the Brexiteers’
EU leaders caused fury last night by shamelessly exploiting and mocking Britain’s Brexit turmoil.
They joked about Theresa May’s divided Cabinet and expressed renewed hope that Brexit may never happen following the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson.
One official even compared the departure of the Foreign Secretary and Brexit Secretary to rats fleeing a sinking ship.
At a Press conference, EU Council chief Donald Tusk described ‘the mess caused by Brexit’ as the ‘biggest problem in the history of UK-EU relations’.
He later raised the prospect of a Brexit U-turn, before tweeting: ‘I can only regret that the idea of Brexit has not left with Davis and Johnson. But... who knows?’
Meanwhile, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker offered a sarcastic response to a question about the resignations, saying: ‘This clearly proves that at Chequers there was clearly a unity of views in the British Cabinet.’
It came after EU officials appeared to rejoice at the departure of Mr Davis by declaring that his exit had triggered the ‘flight of the Brexiteers’.
Tory MEP David Campbell Bannerman said those who voted Brexit would be furious.
He added: ‘The lack of respect for democracy and citizens’ views by senior EU leaders like Tusk is shocking and illustrates the rotten bubble at the heart of the EU system. Brexit is in part a reaction to such remoteness and arrogance.’
MEP and former Ukip leader Nigel Farage added: ‘The way Brussels has behaved through this whole process thoroughly justifies the Leave vote.’
During the Press conference held by Mr Tusk and Mr Juncker yesterday, Mr Tusk said: ‘ Politicians come and go but the problems they’ve created for their people remain. The mess caused by Brexit is the biggest problem in the history of UK-EU relations and it is still very far from being solved with or without Mr Davis. Unfortunately the idea of Brexit hasn’t left together with David Davis.’
It came after one EU official told The Daily Telegraph: ‘It is starting to look like the flight of the Brexiteers. They landed your country in a mess and now they’re leaving for higher ground. Rats and sinking ships... that age-old tale.’
Brussels had initially reacted largely with indifference to Mr Davis’s resignation, insisting it would not derail Brexit negotiations.
Officials privately said Mr Davis had been frozen out of negotiations long ago in favour of Mrs May’s top Brexit civil servant, Oliver Robbins. Mr Davis and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, have ‘barely’ spoken this year, according to sources, holding only four hours of talks in the first half of 2018.
EU diplomats say the messenger is less important than a ‘unified position’ from the UK to help negotiations progress.