He also dismissed comments made by Boris Johnson during the Vote Leave campaign about cake, where the now United Kingdom foreign secretary spoke of being “pro-having it and pro-eating it”.
Advertisement
Recalling the Second World War, Tusk said the source of it “was the questioning of those values and treating national egoisms, the use of violence and the unlimited right of the stronger to dictate conditions for the weaker as the norm”.
In a speech at the European Policy Centre conference, Mr Tusk said the United Kingdom can not retain the benefits of its European Union membership while blocking the free movement of people. “When John Major had to go to the rest of Europe and negotiate the Maastricht treaty, he first put in effect something very similar to a white paper to the House of Commons and said ‘these are my objectives, this is the way I want to try and approach these talks, will you give me your backing or not?'” he said.
She also pointed to the Great Repeal Bill that will see the United Kingdom government renegotiate the terms of the European Communities Act, saying her party is “focussing on aspects of EU law that simply do not work for Britain”.
The claimants’ lawyer, David Pannick, said the case “raises an issue of fundamental constitutional importance” because it hinges on the balance between the legislative and executive branches of power Parliament and the government.
Tusk said negotiations will be conducted in “good faith” while defending the interests of the remaining 27 European Union members and minimising costs to seek the best deal for everyone.
“Well, from the European Commission point of view we are now emphasising that the ball now is in United Kingdom court”, said Dombrovskis, who oversees the euro and financial services at the EU’s executive arm. “If we have a chance to reverse this negative process, we will find allies”, he said.
“If Britain says no, it can’t get full access to the European single market”, she said.
A group of lawyers are arguing that the June 23 decision to leave the bloc was not legally binding and Prime Minister Theresa May can not use a “royal prerogative” to trigger Article 50, the mechanism to formally leave the EU. Until now their question was whether Brexit will happen or might it take longer than expected.
Without naming Johnson, notorious in Brussels for his jokey phrase that Britain could have its cake and eat it, Tusk criticised “the proponents of the cake philosophy” who argued the United Kingdom could be part of the European Union single market without bearing any of the costs.
“The idea that the Brownian movement of individuals, of citizens across the surface of Europe, is somehow there on tablets of stone in Brussels is a complete nonsense”, said Mr Johnson.
Ms Miller told Business Insider: “Actually, I managed to fall out with both sides – Leave and Remain”.
Advertisement
He said: “What is coming back to haunt the Brexiteers, are people like me who are called “Bremoaners”. You have a civil service which has been cut to the bone over the decades, trying to navigate through completely uncharted waters with a very complex negotiation going on with 27 member states and European Union institutions with a divided Conservative Party.
