British
'deserters' will face the consequences, warns EU's Juncker
20
May, 2016
The
British people will be treated as “deserters” following a vote to
leave the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker has warned.
In
his greatest intervention in the referendum contest, the President of
the European Commission said that the UK would face “consquences”
and be treated as a “third country” following a break with the
EU.
If
the British leave Europe, people will have to face the consequences -
we will have to, just as they will
Jean-Claude
Juncker
The
remarks were denounced as “intimidation” by Leave campaigners.
"I'm
sure the deserters will not be welcomed with open arms," Mr
Juncker, a lifelong European federalist, told Le Monde.
Renegotiation
Jean-Claude
Juncker noted that David Cameron's reforms package has been absent
from the referendum campaign
"If
the British should say No, which I hope they don't, then life in the
EU will not go on as before," he said. "The United Kingdom
will have to accept being regarded as a third country, which won't be
handled with kid gloves.
"If
the British leave Europe, people will have to face the consequences
-- we will have to, just as they will. It's not a threat but our
relations will no longer be what they are today."
David
Cameron's full speech to the Commons on his EU dealPlay! 17:33
He
also warned that it will “not be easy” to deliver the package of
reforms secured by David Cameron in his referendum.
Key
measures, including the suspension of in-work benefits for EU
citizens, need legislation to be passed through the European
Parliament.
Another
day, another threat from those trying to intimidate the British
people into voting to remain in the failing EU
Gisela
Stuart, Labour MP
He
appeared to complain that the deal, which consumed months of work in
Brussels as leaders sought to give Mr Cameron the best chance of
winning the referendum, had been all but forgotten in the contest.
Downing Street have made little play of the concessions.
"We
will have to implement the arrangement that we have with David
Cameron, which nobody speaks in the referendum campaign. It will not
be easy,” he said.
Gisela
Stuart, a Labour MP campaigning for Brexit, said: “Another day,
another threat from those trying to intimidate the British people
into voting to remain in the failing EU. These extraordinary comments
are a new low.”
British ‘deserters’ will not be welcomed back into Europe – European Commission president
European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has thrown down the gauntlet
ahead of Britain’s EU referendum, warning British people that
“deserters” will not be welcomed back if the UK leaves the bloc.
Juncker,
who earlier this year promised to stay out of the Brexit debate,
denied he was issuing a threat.
The
EC president, a former prime minister of Luxembourg, did not
stipulate how Britain’s relationship with the EU would change –
but simply saying it would be different from today.
“I’m
sure the deserters will not be welcomed with open arms,” Juncker
told French newspaper Le Monde when asked what would happen if the
British people voted for Brexit.
“The
United Kingdom will have to accept being regarded as a third country,
which won’t be handled with kid gloves,” he said.
“If
the British leave Europe, people will have to face the consequences –
we will have to, just as they will. It’s not a threat, but our
relations will no longer be what they are today.”
Juncker’s
stern warning comes three months after the European Commission
pledged to stay out of the Brexit debate.
RT UK
Leaked letter shows Cameron 'knee-deep in a conspiracy' with big business to keep UK in EU http://on.rt.com/7cx5
“The
Commission will not campaign in the UK and will not be part of the
campaign,” EC spokesman Margaritis Schinas said in February.
In
the event Brits vote to leave the EU, there will be a two-year limit
for negotiating the terms on which the UK would leave.
Unless
there is unanimous agreement, or an agreement to extend talks,
Britain would be excluded from the bloc.
Even
if Britain votes to stay in the EU, there would still be difficult
negotiations ahead as member states would still have to implement the
deal Cameron struck with the EU in February.
Nearly 100 MPs are considering vote of no confidence in Cameron if UK votes to stay in EU http://on.rt.com/7cs9
Juncker
warned that it wouldn’t be “easy” for this to happen.
The
European Parliament still needs to agree to parts of the deal
brokered by Cameron which ensure the UK has “special status” in
the bloc.
In
the same interview, Juncker dismissed concerns of a volatile
relationship between Paris and Berlin.
“A
couple sometimes has trouble getting along,” he said.
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