Jean Claude
Jean Claude
Jean Claudewas a French Protestant divine...
night settlement concern
Here in Brussels, we did everything to accommodate David Cameron's concerns. My collaborators and I personally spent countless days and nights negotiating an agreement that was fair toward the United Kingdom and toward the other 27 Member States. I was then very surprised to see that this settlement played no role whatsoever in the campaign in the United Kingdom. At the same time it is hardly surprising.
night hours saddened
As a human being I am personally saddened, as I have a great deal of respect for the large number of British colleagues I have worked with over the years. That is why I personally invested countless hours, days and nights, in negotiating a fair deal for the United Kingdom.
effort political debate
There is a proposal to divide the currency zone into a north and a south euro. There is also the idea of setting up a core monetary union in the middle of Europe. I disapprove of these debates. Instead, we should devote all of our efforts to supplementing the monetary union with a political union.
party independence imagine
I note that many British MEPs belonging to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) have used all their time in Parliament to work against the institution of which they are members. I would not presume to advise them on what they should or should not do. However, since the UK could not leave the EU fast enough as far as they were concerned, I can imagine that they will not stay any longer than they have to.
long term policy
I'm convinced that, in the long term, a monetary union includes a joint debt policy under strict, mutually agreed upon conditions.
stronger overcoming crisis
The European Union has decades of experience in overcoming crises and has always emerged stronger after.
blame easy hindsight
With hindsight, it is always easy to blame everyone else.
winning political important
Much as I would have liked to respond factually and truthfully to each and every piece of misinformation spread by the Brexit campaign, it was important that I stayed out of the domestic political debate. It was David Cameron's task to win the UK referendum, not ours.
sense-of-humor compromise legendary
With their charm and legendary sense of humor, the British directly or indirectly paved the way for a large number of European compromises.
age-and-aging audience partly quotes
I've become 40, my audience is partly the same age.
now-and-then
Between now and then, after 43 years of European marriage, the whole body of legislation will therefore have to be disentangled. That entails a whole range of specific and very complex questions: what will be the future legal status of the millions of EU citizens in the UK and the millions of Britons on the continent?
european-union
Article 50 governs the exit from the European Union and here there can also be no renegotiation.
doubt
There can be no doubt that, with the United Kingdom, we will lose a very market-oriented voice.
political victory annoying
The use of EU summits to frame political victories or defeats is an annoying habit.