Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2016-06-28-Speech-1-023-000"
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"en.20160628.4.1-023-000"2
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"Madam President, the British people have spoken, and they have voted to leave the European Union. Whatever our personal views we should now all respect the democratic will of the British people and work together and move on. I know there was surprise, shock, and lots of emotion on both sides of the Channel, and there will be many attempts to replay both the referendum campaign and history. Only in the last few days I have heard people say, what if British politicians had been more honest with the British people about the political dimension of the EU and the dream of a United States of Europe? What if the EU had offered more in negotiations with the British people? But that is now all in the past. Now, politicians in the UK and the EU both need to look to the future, and on both sides of the Channel we need to pause and start thinking about our negotiating strategies. Let us think carefully in the short term about the best relationship for us both in the long term. As the Presidency said, cool heads must prevail.
Across Europe there is disagreement amongst leaders about what the EU should be seeking in its future relationships with the UK. Some are saying, ‘let’s go slowly’; others are saying ‘let’s punish Britain’; and others are saying ‘we have a plan – we have an association agreement ready’. Just as in the EU there are differences, there are differences in the UK: when to trigger Article 50, whether to look for an EU-UK trade deal, whether to look for an EEA deal, or some other scenario. The EU needs to be clear and the UK needs to prepare its own plan. In the meantime, the Treaties are clear and they must be respected. So both the UK and the EU negotiators need to give the markets certainty over the timetable for negotiations: prepare your negotiating positions ready for when Article 50 is triggered, and look for a deal that is, as much as possible, mutually beneficial to both the EU and the UK. It is not the speed at which negotiations are completed, but the deal that we get at the end which is more important.
Let me also say on a personal note that for centuries Britain has welcomed people from all over the world. When many European countries were mired in dictatorship and fascism, we were an open country. Today, I hope all British politicians can unite in stating that Britain will remain an open, tolerant and global nation.
Regardless of how we now proceed, Britain and the EU will continue to be close partners for years to come. So now is not the time to replay the past. Now is the time to look to the future, to ensure that as we roll up our sleeves and begin negotiations, we in Britain become good neighbours and are no longer reluctant tenants."@en1
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