Joe Duggan (Reporter)
JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker has slammed Britain’s ‘nonsense’ approach in Brexit talks on EU citizens’ rights.
The European Commission president questioned why the UK government hadn’t agreed to keep existing rights for EU expats living in the UK.
Juncker admitted the two Brussels negotiating teams had ‘made progress’, but that the UK’s stance lacked ‘common sense’.
“Why not say, easily, with common sense – which is not a political category, as we know – that things will stay as they are?” he said.
“The Europeans – ‘foreigners’, as they are saying in London – they are there in the island, and so many British friends are here.”
He added: “Let them here, let them there. Why are we discussing nonsense like that?”
Juncker also demanded Britain paid its Brexit ‘divorce bill’ before the next stage of talks could begin.
“I am not hating the British. The Europeans have to be grateful for so many things Britain has brought to Europe, during war, before war, after war, everywhere and every time, but now they have to pay,” he said.
Last week, the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned of a ‘disturbing deadlock’ in the Brexit talks.
Quite right too Herr Junker. About time our dithering “negotiators” saw sense and paid their dues, instead of these pathetic attempts at blackmail.
Own up you Tory clowns, you have always intended to simply crash out of the EU, because you are incapable of seeing the sense of negating the idiotic referendum.
A no deal situation could be good, as Brexit may then never come to fruition. Remember that it is Parliament that makes the decision and walking off a cliff-edge is unlikely to be popular.