British Prime Minister Theresa May had signed, sealed and delivered the historical letter which triggers Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty – officially withdrawing from the European Union. The letter dated 29 May, 2017 effectively gives United Kingdom a 2-year window in which to negotiate a new treaty to replace the terms of EU membership.
It was a historical moment partly because the Article 50 has never been used before since its creation. Nine months after Britain voted to leave the EU on 23 June, 2016, the first letter of its kind was hand-delivered to a sombre Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, by Sir Tim Barrow, Britain’s permanent representative at the EU.
As in any Western divorce, the separation isn’t peaceful, let alone cheap. French President Francois Hollande telephoned Theresa May to claim that the negotiations about Britain’s future relationship with Brussels cannot begin until the issue of the country’s exit terms are agreed. EU wants British taxpayers to pay a “divorce bill” of £50 billion (US$62.4 billion; RM276.5 billion) as the price of quitting the EU.
But Downing Street insisted the issues of exit terms and trade could be discussed simultaneously, paying little attention to the outgoing French president. Theresa has her own bargaining chip – threatening to withdraw cooperation with the EU on crime and security matters if European leaders refuse to talk and reach a comprehensive Brexit agreement.
EU was extremely saddened with the divorce. After receiving the Article 50 letter, Tusk struck a gloomy note – “There is no reason to pretend that this is a happy day, neither in Brussels nor in London. After all, most Europeans, including almost half the British voters, wished that we would stay together, not drift apart. As for me, I will not pretend that I am happy today.”
Now, perhaps not being able to accept the reality that EU has officially lost a goose that laid the golden eggs, EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker has gone bonkers. In an extraordinary speech the EU Commission president has demanded U.S. President Donald Trump to change his tune, stop cheering Brexit and become more supportive of the EU, or else.
Mr. Juncker has threatened to hit back at Mr. Trump if the U.S. president continues to encourage and applaud other EU countries to do the same as Brexiteers. He has the following message for Trump – “If he goes on like that I am going to promote the independence of Ohio and Austin, Texas in the US.”
During the 2016 presidential election campaign, Donald Trump has praised Britain as “smart” for opting out of the European Union. He even welcomed the result of the June referendum, saying it was “a great thing” that the British voters “took back their country.” To add salt to the wound, Trump said other countries could follow the lead and leave the block.
However, Mr. Juncker wasn’t at all impressed with Trump’s cheerleading role. He called Trump’s enthusiasm for Britain’s departure from the EU “annoying” in an interview with Financial Times. He had even warned that Trump administration stance on anti-EU could invite a new war in Europe if EU collapses. But this is not the first time Juncker has gone bonkers.
Almost immediately after Britons voted to leave EU on 23 June, 2016, Mr. Juncker and others in Brussels, including foreign ministers of the founding six EU states (Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, France and Netherlands) demanded that UK should get started immediately by invoking the Article 50. They couldn’t wait until October for Cameron to leave.
Obviously, the EU elite in Brussels couldn’t accept the reality that their club is slowly disintegrating, even till this moment. Like a small kid who couldn’t get their candies anymore, they throw tantrums and demonstrate childish and vengeful behaviour. Juncker and his members were calling the British bluff, claiming the Britons were regretting and wanted to make a U-turn.
Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, was other vengeful EU elite who famously said Britain had only “2 days or 48 hours” to trigger Article 50 immediately after British voted to leave the expensive club. UK has paid close to £500 billion (US$724 billion; RM3 trillion) to the EU budget since 1973, therefore, it’s not hard to understand why Brussels isn’t happy with Brexit.
Amusingly, as Mr. Juncker hammers the U.S. president, he conveniently forgot that Donald Trump hasn’t even won his title as the 2016 Republican presidential nominee, let alone becoming the U.S. 45th POTUS, when the British voted to get out of EU. The EU boss is barking at the wrong tree. He should blame Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande and others.
Before issuing an empty threat at President Trump, EU President Juncker (perhaps heavily intoxicated) should at least get his fact right. Having voted Democratic in 2012 and 2008, Trump won Ohio with the second largest win margin after Iowa. In Austin, Trump won 78.5% of the votes while Hillary Clinton only secured 18.2%. Sure, good luck pulling Ohio or Austin or Texas out of USA.
Mr. Juncker would have a better chance of getting California out of America. Declaring war with the U.S. when the real problems are in his backyard is simply breathtaking. With friends like an ignorant and out of touch Jean-Claude Juncker, who needs enemies like Britain or Russia? That’s what happens when you send a boy to do a man’s job and give him absolute power.
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March 31st, 2017 by financetwitter
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That boy must be a French 🙂