EU calls on Britain to clarify Brexit stance following snap elections
The European Union has called on the UK for clarity on its Brexit stance following last week’s snap elections.
"We await... the position of the United Kingdom," said the European Parliament's point person Guy Verhofstadt, during a press conference on Tuesday.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for the early elections in mid-April to get a “stronger hand” in Brexit negotiations with the EU but instead cost her party the overall majority in Parliament.
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"It's unclear if the UK government will stick to the line that they had announced in the letter of the 29th of March or if they will change it,... taking into account the outcome of the election," added Verhofstadt.
May has been urged to resign following the Thursday election, where her party lost 12 seats of its 330-seat parliamentary majority and now needs help from other parties to remain in power.
To make things worse, the main opposition party Labour entered the election holding only 229 seats and came out with 262, raising the chances of its leader Jeremy Corbyn to succeed May as the next premier.
France: UK welcome to remain in the EU
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has told May that the door remains open for the UK to remain in the EU.
During a joint presser with May, Macron stressed that his country wants negotiations to start as “quickly as possible.” “Of course the door remains open, always open until the Brexit negotiations come to an end,” he added.
“That being said a sovereign decision was taken by the British people and that is to come out of the European Union and I very much respect the decisions taken by the people, be it by the French people or the British people,” he noted.
“As a matter of fact in this case it’s not for me to say whether or not this decision should be questioned – the decision to leave the European Union – but until the negotiations come to an end, of course there is always the possibility to re-open the door,” he added.
He went on to stress that once negotiations begin, moving backwards will become much more difficult.
In her turn, May noted about the Brexit negotiations, “We have been very clear we want to maintain a close relationship and a close partnership with the EU and individual member states into the future, including in the areas we’ve discussed this evening." “And I confirmed to President Macron that the timetable for the Brexit negotiation remains on course and will begin next week,” she added.
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