In an interview granted to several European press agencies, the former British Prime Minister, a fierce opponent of Brexit, believes that for the time being the priority is to organize cooperation with the EU.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published
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A return of the United Kingdom to the European Union, from which it left after the 2016 Brexit referendum, is not an option for many years, said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. “Whether and how the UK returns to the EU is for a future generation. I think it’s reality“said Tony Blair, in an interview with AFP and the European press agencies Ansa, DPA and Efe, from the offices of his Institute for Global Change, in central London.
The 69-year-old former Labor leader strongly opposed Brexit, notably campaigning in Northern Ireland to prevent the consequences of leaving the EU on peace in the province, shaken by three decades of violence until the peace agreement signed in April 1998, nearly 25 years old. The institutions of the province have been paralyzed for a year, facing the boycott of the unionist party DUP, which opposes the post-Brexit provisions in Northern Ireland.
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«I think the debate in the UK right now is more about how much we want to rebuild a strong relationship with Europe, what I think we should be doing, and I hope Labor thinks so too“, estimated Tony Blair. “I think there’s a lot we can do together“, he added.
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“The damage is obvious”
According to him, the United Kingdom and the EU have many subjects to deal with in common, such as energy and the climate, research or even defense and security after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I think it is very important to try to cooperate in technology“, he adds, “because if not, Europe, of which the United Kingdom is a part, will be crushed between the two technological giants of the United States and China, and perhaps even by a third, India».
«The immediate task is to deal with the problems of Brexit, because the damage is evident“, also insists Tony Blair, evoking the disappointment of the British in the face of economic difficulties, illegal immigration or even the problems of the public health system, that “Brexitershad promised to resolve with Brexit.
After the tensions between the EU and the United Kingdom under Boris Johnson, holding a hard line on Brexit, then after the ephemeral Prime Minister Liz Truss, the current tenant of Downing Street Rishi Sunak seems to want a calmer relationship with the EU. He recently concluded an agreement with Brussels to adjust post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland, as well as a new agreement with France to combat illegal immigration.
” READ ALSO – Brexit: EU and London make peace
The Labor opposition, well ahead in the polls less than two years from the next legislative elections, does not question the exit from the EU, its leader Keir Starmer promising to “make Brexit workif he comes to power.
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«I think there is ambivalence among a lot of people in the UK about Brexit. Even though I think people see the problems (brought about by Brexit) they don’t want to go back to the divisions created by this debate“, explains Tony Blair. “So I fully understand Labour’s position».