On Arte following the second rejection of the Brexit agreement
While on Monday evening, March 12, 2019, the British Parliament rejected the agreement put on the table by Theresa May, it also voted against the no-deal on Tuesday, March 13, 2019. The foreseeable result of this second vote does not, however, make it possible to understand where the British want to go, because the Brexit is approaching, the European elections too, and the former must not destabilise the latter. So Brexit or not? If so, when? How? How? Yves Bertoncini, President of the European Movement – France was on the Arte plateau in 28 minutes to decipher the situation.
Is a postponement of Brexit possible?
The Brexit should take place in less than two weeks, yet the agreement accepted by the British government does not find sufficient support. Yves Bertoncini explained that if we want to avoid the idea of a no-deal, a postponement could be considered: “The European Union would be ready to agree to it, provided that there is a British strategy and movement“. However, this possible postponement would be limited in time, Yves Bertoncini recalled “that there is a deadline for the European elections”.
The British referendum committed their destiny, the 2005 referendum referred to the choices of 25 peoples
If the British were to hold a second referendum on their state’s membership of the European Union, it could convey the idea that the EU does not respect the choice of its peoples. However, the President of the European Movement rightly points out the difference between the Brexit referendum, which involves only one country, and the 2005 referendum, which involved several democracies. He explained that in France we have a bad memory of the 2005 referendum: “It was a regulation of co-owners, there were two yes and two no, we had to make a compromise”. According to him, even if this situation may have given the French “the impression that there was a denial of democracy”, it took into account the results of several democratic elections, which makes all the difference with Brexit.
In Emmanuel Macron’s speech, does the President of the Republic consider that the British will remain in Europe?
In his Tribune on Europe, published in the press of the States of the European Union, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron intends to create a Europe in which “the United Kingdom will find its full place”. However, Yves Bertoncini called for a distinction to be made between Europe and the European Union and pointed out that “there is cooperation outside the European Union, which will be necessary if we want to anchor the British who are leaving”. For him, the Head of State wishes above all to lay the foundations for cooperation “because he considers the United Kingdom to be a major partner on strategic issues of collective security and the fight against terrorism”.
Before concluding, Yves Bertoncini pointed out that the difficulties of Brexit are accentuated by the political backdrops, many of which are in the House of Commons: “There is a lot of lying poker on both sides, but a little more in London because these people are disunited, do not know where they want to live”.