Macron shows good sense over new military force

BREXIT does not mean and has never meant leaving Europe. We have ties with the Continent that are geographical, historical, strategic, cultural and emotional. Britain is not leaving Europe, it is leaving the European Union. This is something which many Remainers and many in Brussels wilfully fail to understand.

In matters of security and intelligence it is desirable for all concerned that Britain is a willing partner with European countries. Only the sheer spite of EU apparatchiks would exclude Britain but we have seen a lot of that in the past two years. Britain meanwhile has already pledged “unconditional” support for Europe-wide security post-Brexit.

So this newspaper welcomes French President Macron’s grown-up attitude to Britain’s participation in a new joint European rapid response military intervention force, a plan that he has developed. “This is clearly an initiative that allows the association of some non-EU states,” said the French defence minister Florence Parly.

This is common sense, a plan recognising that whether we are in the EU or not we are a significant military power and that anything that threatens the security of Western Europe is a threat to all.

Before the referendum this mooted military intervention force would have been viewed in Britain as the first step towards a European army which would have been another blow to our sovereignty. Being outside the EU will give us a new freedom and flexibility.