Britain ‘will regret Brexit’ as EU goes on

Brussels: UK exit ‘sad and tragic’ but not be all and end all, says Juncker

Britain will soon regret voting for Brexit, but the European Union will move on, the European Commission president has insisted.

In a speech setting out the future direction of the bloc, Jean-Claude Juncker said the UK’s exit would be a “sad and tragic” moment, but it was “not the be all and end all”.

Mr Juncker evoked the Queen to describe how Brexit helped to make 2016 an “annus horribilis” for the European project.

But during the EU’s annual state of the union address, he insisted the “wind is back in Europe’s sails” and countries were knocking on Brussels’ door to do trade deals with the EU.

Setting out hopes for closer integration, Mr Juncker announced plans to increase passport-free movement around the EU, expand use of the euro and boost the number of member states.

But the hour-long speech, which ranged over areas as diverse as the quality of fish fingers to plans to create a superpresidency role, Brexit was given a notably short slot near the end.

Mr Juncker said: “This will be a very sad and tragic moment in our history. We will always regret this, and I think that you will regret it as well, soon.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “All I can say is ‘Thank God we’re leaving’.

“You have learned nothing from Brexit.

“You are going to centralise and move on to this very worrying, undemocratic union.”

“The wind is back in Europe’s sails with countries wanting to trade”

EU citizens gathered at the UK Parliament yesterday seeking guarantees their rights will not be diluted after Brexit. They called for a “free and simple registration process” ensuring the 3.2million EU citizens in the UK and 1.2million Britons in the...