Boris: Let’s build a bridge to Europe
BRITAIN’S most prominent campaigner for leaving the European Union, Boris Johnson, has suggested building a giant bridge across the English Channel to France after Brexit, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Foreign Secretary Johnson, who led the campaign to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, told French President Emmanuel Macron that he felt it was ridiculous that the two countries were linked by just a single railway.
The leading Brexiteer then suggested building a second crossing, to which Mr Macron said: “I agree. Let’s do it,” the newspaper reported.
“Our economic success depends on good infrastructure and good connections. Should the Channel Tunnel be just a first step?” Mr Johnson said on Twitter.
Mr Johnson did not mention the idea of a bridge explicitly in public and it was unclear if any detailed discussions had taken place about how such a large project might be built or financed.
The Daily Telegraph said that Mr Johnson believes a privately-funded 22-mile Channel Bridge may now be an option and would provide the capacity for increased tourism and trade after Brexit.
“Technology is moving on all the time and there are much longer bridges elsewhere,” Mr Johnson told his aides, according to the newspaper.
Meanwhile Mr Macron said on Thursday he would welcome any move by Prime Minister Theresa May to stay in the European Union’s single market. And he added a warning: London’s prized financial centre could not enjoy the same level of access to the EU under Mrs May’s current Brexit plan.
At a summit where both leaders hailed the two neighbours’ friendship and historic ties and tried to focus on deepening security and defence cooperation, differences over Brexit once again threatened to sour the meeting, underlining the struggle Mrs May faces to negotiate a deal that will protect the economy.
“The choice is on the British side, not on my side,” Mr Macron told a news conference after being asked why he was opposed to Britain’s financial sector being included in any agreement on future trade between the two sides.
“They can have no differentiated access to the financial services. If you want access to the single market, including the financial services, be my guest. But it means that you need to contribute to the budget and acknowledge European jurisdiction.”
The two leaders fought hard to underline that Brexit had not dominated the talks. They played up a new agreement to bolster security at French border controls and for Britain to speed the process of bringing unaccompanied migrant children across the frontier from France.
Mrs May also offered France £44.5 million to help with border security, part of her strategy to use defence as one of her strongest arguments for gaining leverage in negotiations on Britain’s planned departure from the EU.