Juncker hopeful that one day Britain will rejoin European Union
BRITAIN might one day hopefully rejoin the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President, has suggested as Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 as early as next week.
The chief Eurocrat, speaking after a meeting of EU members states minus the UK, said: “I don’t like Brexit because I would like to be in the same boat as the British. The day will come when the British will re-enter the boat, I hope.
“But Brexit is not the end of the European Union nor the end of all our developments, nor the end of our continental ambitions,” he declared.
The meeting in Brussels was the last chance for the leaders of the EU27 to gather together before the formal Brexit process begins.
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, confirmed that if the Prime Minister did invoke Article 50 next week, there would be an extraordinary meeting of the EU27 on April 6.
If it was triggered later this month, the meeting would be pushed back to later in April, she explained.
She added: “We are wellprepared and we shall wait with interest but which day in March it will be is not of such prime importance.”
Donald Tusk, the European Council President, made clear the EU would be ready to respond within two days of Mrs May triggering Brexit.
He and Mr Juncker called for unity among the EU27 ahead of talks. Both stressed the need for political ties to be maintained in the face of Brexit, despite recent calls from Germany, France and Italy for an EU which allowed different countries to advance at their own pace.
Choosing the right moment to start the two-year leaving process is not without its difficulties for Mrs May. MPs are due on Monday to debate the Brexit bill and are expected to overturn the changes the House of Lords has made in guaranteeing the status of EU citizens in the UK and on making clear that MPs and not ministers will have the final say on the deal.
It is possible the legislation could get Royal Assent as soon as Tuesday which would coincide with the PM delivering her usual Commons statement on the EU summit. But triggering Brexit on Tuesday or Wednesday might not go down well with the EU27 as midweek the Dutch go to the polls with Geert Wilder’s Freedom Party campaigning for the Netherlands to have its own referendum to leave the EU.
Given the political sensitivities around Brexit for the constitution, the PM if she triggers Article 50 next week is likely to increase tensions with the Scottish Government as Nicola Sturgeon is due to give her keynote speech at the SNP conference, which takes place next Friday and Saturday.