EU-Britain: British Arrogance after German leaders demand Brexit clarity from new British PM

Arrogance will come and hound Britain

Reuters reports that German leaders stepped up the pressure on Britain's incoming prime minister Theresa May on Tuesday by demanding she swiftly spell out when she will launch divorce proceedings with the European Union.

"The task of the new prime minister ... will be to get clarity on the question of what kind of relationship Britain wants to build with the European Union," Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference.

Her finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said clarity was needed quickly to limit uncertainty after Britain's shock choice for 'Brexit', which has rocked the 28-nation bloc and thrown decades of European integration into reverse.

May, 59, will on Wednesday replace David Cameron, who is resigning after Britons rejected his advice and voted on June 23 to quit the EU. On arriving and departing from Cameron's last cabinet meeting, she waved a little awkwardly from the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, shortly to become her home.

She will face the enormous task of disentangling Britain from a forest of EU laws, accumulated over more than four decades, and negotiating new trade terms while limiting potential damage to the economy.

The pound was up 1.2 percent against the dollar at around $1.3150, boosted by the appointment of a new prime minister weeks earlier than expected after May's main rival dropped out.

But it remains more than 12 percent below the $1.50 it touched on the night of the June 23 referendum, reflecting concerns that Brexit will hit trade, investment and growth.

The German leaders spoke after May's ally Chris Grayling appeared to dampen any hopes among Britain's EU partners that her rapid ascent might accelerate the process of moving ahead with the split and resolving the uncertainty hanging over the 28-nation bloc.

Grayling, the Leader of the House of Commons, said there was no hurry to invoke Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which will formally launch the process of separation and start the clock ticking on a two-year countdown to Britain's actual departure.

"I think Article 50 should be triggered when we're ready. The most important thing right now is we do what's in our national interest," Grayling told Sky News.

"We get ourselves ready for the negotiation, we decide what kind of relationship we want to negotiate, and then we move ahead and trigger Article 50. We'll do it right, we'll do it in a proper way, we'll do it when we're ready."

Note EU-Digest: What arrogance by the British, after they decided to leave the EU, they are now dragging their feet to evoke article 50 ( divorce agreement) and also dragging the 27 EU member states into their self evoked economic and political disaster. If Britain keeps dragging their feet one can only hope the EU uses some more direct methods to protect itself, and kicks them out.   

EU-Digest

Half of Europeans think Britain will leave the EU "but poll shows all of them think their country should stay in" – by Vince Chadwic

BREXIT

Half of Europeans in eight EU countries think Britain will vote to leave in the June 23 referendum, according to a poll published Monday.

The Ipsos MORI survey also found that almost half of those questioned think their country should follow Britain’s lead and hold a referendum on EU membership.

The online survey of between 500 and 1,000 adults under the age of 65 in eight countries, plus the U.K., found 45 percent want an EU referendum, and 33 percent would vote to leave if given the choice today.

In Italy, 48 percent would vote to leave in a hypothetical referendum, compared to 41 percent in France and 39 percent in Sweden. Only 22 percent of Poles and 21 percent of Spaniards would vote to go.

“A topic that unifies [Poles] to a large degree is our membership of the European Union,” Polish President Andrzej Duda told Polsat news in a recent interview. “There are no serious politicians today who say that we should leave the European Union.”

Do you think your own country should hold an EU referendum?

 

Blue Yes - Red No
 In the event of an EU referendum in your own country, how would you vote?

Blue Remain: Red: Opt out

SOURCE: Ipsos MORI Brexit poll May 9

Read more: Half of Europeans think Britain will leave the EU – POLITICO

Britain: Selfish, ignorant, dangerous: Europe's verdict on Cameron speech

Britain's European partners told David Cameron on Wednesday his demand for radical reform of the EU and an "in-out" referendum on UK membership showed a selfish and ignorant attitude.

France went so far as to call Britain's bluff and say it was free to leave. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he had told a recent meeting with British businessmen: "If Britain wants to leave Europe we will roll out the red carpet for you."

That was a riposte to Cameron who last year used the same phrase to welcome wealthy French tax exiles to Britain.

EU politicians turned to culinary and sporting metaphors to vent frustration at the prime minister's promise to renegotiate Britain's already semi-detached membership of the EU and put it to a popular vote if he wins re-election in 2015.

"Cherry-picking is not an option," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said. Two French cabinet ministers accused Cameron of treating Europe like an "a la carte" menu from which Britain thought it could pick and choose.

Note EU-Digest: There was a similarity in the context and tone of Mr. Cameron's speech with those of the extremist members in the US Tea Party.

Read more: Selfish, ignorant, dangerous: Europe's verdict on Cameron speech | Reuters

Britain - survey: Arrogant, unfriendly and no sense of humour: what foreign tourists think of the English

They love our Royal family, our ancient traditions and our historic buildings. But if there is one thing the foreign tourist does not like, it is the character of the British people. Much as we may try to be welcoming, visitors from abroad remain distinctly unimpressed, according to the organzsation responsible for promoting Britain overseas.

Research carried out by VisitBritain found that visitors from 35 different nations listed Britain a poor 16th overall on a list of countries likely to offer the most friendly welcome. And it is some of our nearest European neighbours who are particularly scathing about our national character.

The French had particular problems with the English – rather than the Scots and the Welsh – and were the least likely of any of the countries surveyed to visit the United Kingdom, despite their close proximity. "The French do not perceive they would receive a warm welcome if they visited the UK," the report revealed.

"The attributes relating to human aspects are the weakest, with low mean scores for being welcoming, having a good sense of humour or friendliness. Most of the negativity towards Britain was towards the English people, and what was described as their reserve or arrogance."

Read ,ore: Arrogant, unfriendly and no sense of humour: what foreign tourists think of the English - Telegraph

Britain's future: Goodbye Europe - "EU mood - good ridance - Arrogant British want all in exchange for nothing""

Britain does not dream of some cozy, isolated existence on the fringes of the European Community” asserted Margaret Thatcher in 1988. Now, increasingly, it does. Opinion polls show that most Britons are in favour of leaving the European Union. Baroness Thatcher’s Conservative Party, which took Britain into Europe four decades ago, is divided between those who long for an arm’s-length relationship and those who want to walk out. The second camp is swelling.

Even the fiercest British critics of the EU are astonished by the speed at which things are moving. Parliamentary rebellions over Europe are becoming easier and easier to organise. Euroscepticism is hardening in the Conservative Party, in much the same way as social conservatism has gone from being a powerful current in America’s Republican Party to an intolerant orthodoxy. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which wants to leave the EU, has abruptly moved from the political margins to the mainstream. A referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU now seems a matter of timing.

Even the fiercest British critics of the EU are astonished by the speed at which things are moving. Parliamentary rebellions over Europe are becoming easier and easier to organise. Euroscepticism is hardening in the Conservative Party, in much the same way as social conservatism has gone from being a powerful current in America’s Republican Party to an intolerant orthodoxy. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which wants to leave the EU, has abruptly moved from the political margins to the mainstream. A referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU now seems a matter of timing.

For an economically liberal newspaper that has been sceptical of much that Brussels does, a British exit would be a double tragedy. Britons would suffer far more than they currently realize.

The cleverer Eurosceptics, including Mr Cameron, do not want Britain to leave; they just want to bring back some powers from Brussels. But their efforts to do so are making things worse. Last year almost all other EU members lined up against Mr Cameron, who was trying to block a fiscal compact to help resolve the euro crisis. The British now hope that tightening euro-zone integration provides a chance for Mr Cameron to negotiate looser ties. They could be wrong.  

Other EU countries are tiring of British demands. Many, including Germany, would prefer to avoid a British exit, but they are not so desperate to keep Mr Cameron in that they are prepared to concede much in the way of social and labour-market regulation. And some, such as France, might positively welcome the departure of the club’s most awkward (arrogant) member.

Read more: Britain's future: Goodbye Europe | The Economist