June 26, 2016
EU Officials: ‘Britain Will Have to Pay a Price’ for Brexit
Jamie Dettmer
June 16, 2016 9:03 AM
ROME—
| TimeWatch Editor’s Note: Notice that before the vote, EU officials did not look kindly upon the possibility of Britain’s departure. Will be interesting to see if they follow through. |
Britain will have to pay a price, if it exits the European Union — if for no other reason than to send a warning message to other member countries that may consider leaving the bloc.
In the run-up to Britain’s June 23 referendum, Brussels officials and European lawmakers are warning London it will face tough — if not harsh — negotiations to conclude a post-Brexit free trade deal like Norway’s or Switzerland with the EU.
‘Leave EU’ now leading polls
Attitudes have hardened towards Britain among European leaders as British opinion polls in recent days have shown a surge in support for the ‘Leave’ campaign putting it ahead of the "Remain" camp by as much as six percent. In briefings to reporters, EU officials appear much less restrained in their remarks about a possible Brexit, insisting Britain will be the greater loser and that Europe’s most reluctant member needs the EU more than the pact needs the British.
The EU is Britain's biggest trading partner.
“It has always been a half-hearted member and it has been increasingly a disruptive one; maybe now is the time for it to go,” one senior EU Commission official told VOA.
With Wednesday night’s street clashes between English football fans attending the Euro 2016 soccer tournament and the riot police in the French city of Lille in mind, he added: “Rather like the French police, we are getting tired of the flare-ups and drama.”
European leaders tread lightly in comments
European leaders have been careful in their comments about the British referendum on EU membership in recent weeks, mainly restricting their comments to a wish that Britain remains a member.
This has been partly at the urging of Downing Street, which has feared overt intervention in the increasingly acrimonious British debate would foment public anger at being told what to do by foreigners. U.S. President Barack Obama’s plea “as a friend” for Britain to remain a member during an April visit to London was reckoned by both camps to have had a detrimental impact on the Remain campaign.
But with the apparent surge in support for a Brexit, which has sent the pound reeling and wiped $140 billion off the value of Britain’s top 100 companies in the last four days of trading, EU jitters are turning to frustration, even anger.
Some saying ‘good riddance’
“They never wanted to be with us,” said Jo Leinen, a German member of the European Parliament. “There will be problems with them, if they stay in because it [the referendum] won’t clarify what kind of relationship they want with Europe.”
Polish Euro lawmaker Jacek Saryusz-Wolski acknowledged the EU may be economically poorer with a Brexit and said he would regret the loss of Britain as a powerful powerbroker between Paris and Berlin but added the greater loser would be Britain, which “would be committing an act of self-harm.” He calculates the Brexit argument will win out on June 23.
Click on Link:
http://www.voanews.com/content/britain-eu-brexit/3378893.html
