Juncker has ‘un pop’ at English
Eurocrat says lingo losing importance on continent
EURO chief Jean-Claude Juncker hit back at Theresa May yesterday – by claiming the English language is becoming irrelevant.
The European Commission addressed a conference in French because “slowly but surely, English is losing importance in Europe”.
Juncker told the gathering in Florence that Brexit was a “tragedy” and said the UK was “abandoning” the EU.
He added: “Of course we will negotiate with our British friends in full transparency.
“But there should be no doubt whatsoever about the idea that it is the EU that is abandoning the UK. It is the opposite, in fact. It is the UK that is abandoning the EU.
“Now growth in the EU is twice that in the US and I feel we can be reassured as far as the immediate future is concerned.
“And at that point – despite the success, despite the growth – our British friends decided to leave the EU, which is a tragedy.”
May this week accused the EC of trying to sabotage Britain’s general election.
The Tory offensive continued yesterday as UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon ordered European officials to “keep their views to themselves”.
And Brexit Secretary David Davis said “the line was crossed” when news stories appeared suggesting Britain would be hit with a 100billion euro divorce bill – double previous estimates.
Davis said on BBC One’s Question Time: “The British people will not be bullied, and the Government will not allow them to be bullied.”