Windsor Star

Lady Brexit holds talks with Monsieur Europe

Discussion­s on U.K. leaving EU start next week

- SYLVIE CORBET AND GREGORY KATZ

PARIS • She wants to escape the European Union, he wants to embolden it. British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks Tuesday from opposite sides of the Brexit front line and agreed negotiatio­ns for Britain’s divorce from the European bloc will start next week as planned.

They also reached common ground on fighting a shared enemy: terrorism. Standing side by side in the garden of the Elysée Palace after a working dinner, the leaders announced plans to pursue an initiative to require tech companies to better police online extremism and hold them legally liable if they fail to do so.

“We are united in our total condemnati­on of terrorism and our commitment to stamp out this evil,” May said.

May arrived in Paris with her leadership hobbled by a catastroph­ic election last week just as Britain heads into tough talks on leaving the EU.

While May struggles to hold power, Macron is on the ascendancy, with his year-old party set to win a huge majority in parliament­ary elections Sunday. That should fortify Macron’s standing in Europe as he tries to push the remaining EU nations to stand tough in Brexit negotiatio­ns, and to unite even more closely as Britain departs.

Seeking to allay European concerns after her election setback, May reaffirmed Tuesday that “the timetable for Brexit negotiatio­ns remains on course and will begin next week.”

British officials previously suggested they wouldn’t be able to formally start Brexit negotiatio­ns as scheduled.

Macron called for the negotiatio­ns to “start as soon as possible,” but also added the door is open for the U.K. to remain in the European Union. From a European point of view, he said, as long as the negotiatio­ns are not over, there is still a possibilit­y to change the course of events.

Still, he acknowledg­ed, “the decision (to exit the EU) has been taken by the sovereign British people. I do respect that.”

The talks Tuesday also focused heavily on deepening counterter­rorism co-operation, especially reducing extremist propaganda circulated online. Britain and France face similar challenges in fighting homegrown Islamic extremism and share similar scars from deadly attacks that rocked London, Manchester, Paris and Nice.

May said major internet companies have failed to live up to commitment­s to do more to prevent extremists from finding a “safe space” online. Macron urged other European countries, especially Germany, to join the effort to fight Islamic extremist propaganda on the web.

After the Islamic State group recruited hundreds of French fighters largely through online propaganda, France introduced legislatio­n ordering French providers to block certain content, but acknowledg­es any such effort must reach well beyond its borders. Tech-savvy Macron has lobbied for tougher European rules, but details of his plans remain unclear.

Britain already has tough measures, including a law known informally as the Snooper’s Charter, which gives authoritie­s the powers to look at the internet browsing records of everyone in the country. Among other things, the law requires telecommun­ications companies to keep records of all users’ web activity for a year, creating databases of personal informatio­n firms worry could be vulnerable to leaks and hackers.

After their talks, May and Macron headed to the Stade de France stadium north of Paris to watch a France-England exhibition soccer match honouring victims of the recent attacks in Manchester and London. players from both teams walked onto the field to sounds of the Oasis song Don’t Look Back in Anger played by the French Republican Guard. Then Macron and May joined French and British fans in singing God Save the Queen, followed by a minute of silence.

Two big screens projected the red-and-white Cross of St. George and giant flags from both countries were rolled out onto the field.

Three attackers mowed down pedestrian­s on London Bridge then stabbed people in nearby Borough Market on June 3. Eight people were killed and dozens more injured. On May 22, a man detonated a bomb as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, killing 22 people.

France’s players were touched by the overwhelmi­ng show of support they received from England fans when they played an exhibition match at Wembley Stadium on Nov. 17, 2015, just four days after attacks hit a Paris stadium, cafés and a rock concert, killing 130. England fans that night sang along with the French national anthem.

 ?? THIERRY CHESNOT / GETTY IMAGES ?? French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May met in Paris Tuesday to discuss the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and the two countries working together to fight against radicaliza­tion and terrorism.
THIERRY CHESNOT / GETTY IMAGES French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May met in Paris Tuesday to discuss the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and the two countries working together to fight against radicaliza­tion and terrorism.

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