Manfred Weber: UK still thinks it can cherry pick in Brexit talks

Parliament's EPP group leader, Manfred Weber, has again accused the UK of cherry picking in the current Brexit talks.

Manfred Weber | Photo credit: European Parliament audiovisual

By Martin Banks

Martin Banks is a senior reporter at the Parliament Magazine

14 Sep 2017


On Tuesday, the UK published its latest policy paper on Brexit, this time on security and defence, which said that cooperation in this area should remain close after Brexit. 

When asked to comment this, Weber said, "It seems that the UK is still thinking they can cherry pick in the Brexit talks. 

"In other words, they want to pick the bits that they want and the bits that they do not want. I don't think this will work. It will not fly. You have to decide if you want to keep the advantages of the EU and European ideals or leave the EU. "


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In the paper, the UK will lay out its position on future security cooperation with the EU, and envisages it will "contribute military assets to EU operations, cooperate on sanctions and agree joint positions on foreign policy" as part of a Brexit deal.

According to the paper, copies of which have been seen by this website, the UK government says that it would "contribute military assets to EU operations, cooperate on sanctions and agree joint positions on foreign policy" as part of a Brexit deal.

"After we leave the European Union we will continue to face shared threats to our security, our shared values and our way of life," said Brexit Secretary David Davis. 

"It's in our mutual interest to work closely with the EU and its member states to challenge terrorism and extremism, illegal migration, cyber-crime, and conventional state-based military aggression."

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said, "In security terms, a failure to reach agreement would mean our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened."

 

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