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BRITAIN-VOTE-BREXIT-EU-SUMMIT-POLITICS
EU leaders prepare for Brexit after Johnson win
BRUSSELS, Dec 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – European leaders will charge EU
negotiator Michel Barnier on Friday with negotiating a close trade deal with
Britain, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s apparent election win set the
stage for an orderly Brexit.
Some officials at the EU summit in Brussels expressed relief as exit polls
arrived from across the Channel, predicting a workable parliamentary majority
for the pro-Brexit premier.
“We will wait and we will see what will be the official results but there
is a strong message we will give tomorrow,” said summit host and new
president of the European Council Charles Michel.
“We are ready for the next steps and we will see if its possible for the
British parliament to accept the Withdrawal Agreement and take a decision,”
he said.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed, adding that
Brussels would congratulate the winner and work quickly to draft a mandate
for post-Brexit trade talks.
France’s minister for European affairs, Amelie de Montchalin, said that —
if confirmed — the results would comfort President Emmanuel Macron, who has
long wanted to see London ratify the Brexit withdrawal agreement and leave
the bloc on January 31 as planned.
“If the exit poll results are confirmed it should allow for a clear
majority, something that has been missing in the United Kingdom for several
years,” she said.
“It’s not for me to be relieved — or worried — but, along with the
president, we’ve been saying for several months: ‘We need clarity’.”
The EU leaders have a Brexit text ready to adopt on Friday at the end of
their two day summit.
According to the latest draft, seen by AFP, the 27 other EU leaders will
restate their support for Britain’s “orderly withdrawal on the basis of the
Withdrawal Agreement” signed by Johnson at a previous summit and call “for
its timely ratification and effective implementation.”
They will call for “as close as possible a future relationship with the UK”
while warning that “the future relationship will have to be based on a
balance of rights and obligations and ensure a level playing field” in terms
of business and trade rules.
And they will ask the European Commission to submit “a draft comprehensive
mandate for a future relationship with the UK immediately after its
withdrawal.”
While Barnier will direct trade negotiations, the leaders will follow
closely “and provide further guidance as necessary fully consistent with the
EU’s best interest and with the aim of reaching a result that is fair and
equitable for all Member States and in the interest of our citizens.”
As he arrived at the summit on Thursday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar
did not endorse Johnson’s vow to “Get Brexit Done”, but stressed the need for
a decisive verdict.
“I imagine most prime ministers and presidents will be staying up all night
to watch the results, so we’ll all be a bit bleary eyed in the morning,” he
told reporters ahead of the summit.
“Obviously, it’s entirely a decision for the people of the UK to elect
whatever government they want and I just hope the result is decisive so that
we know where we’re going over the next few months.”
– Enemies in Brussels –
Johnson made a career as a journalist and later as a leader of the pro-
Brexit movement by criticising the European Union — making several enemies
in Brussels.
But, after three years of chaotic attempts to agree separation terms in the
wake of the 2016 British exit referendum, many EU leaders are resigned to
Johnson representing their best chance of an orderly divorce.
Ahead of the exit poll forecasts, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel
said the next British leader should have a majority “to fulfil the agreements
we decided on both sides”.
And he called for “a parliament in London that agrees on the future
relationship, and all these things very quickly”.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0859 hrs