EU obtained all it wanted from Brexit, but it must watch out - Alfred Sant

Former Prime Minister and Maltese MEP Alfred Sant told the European Parliament that should there be any other EU government wishing to exit, it will have learnt the lesson of not doing it the British way. Sant, reacting on the UK's withdrawal from the EU, mentioned the Versailles Treaty of 1918 which tempted the losing side to seek retribution.

"On the one hand, it is clear that the Brexit deal just signed is the only one possible in the circumstances. On the other hand it is equally clear that while the EU has safeguarded all its imperatives, the UK has retreated along all lines of engagement. In part this was because for various reasons, its negotiating positions and strategies were not so coherent."

Sant said the EU should be wary of driving its negotiating advantages as of now, to the extreme. This might lead to very serious unintended and unforeseeable consequences. In any agreement, a party that goes away with the feeling it has been given a raw deal, will later be tempted or driven to exact some form of compensation or retribution.

"Witness the Versailles treaty, or the Russian position over recent years in reaction to how post-Soviet arrangements in Europe were played out."

The Maltese MEP remarked that should there be any other EU government wishing to exit, it will have learnt the lesson of not doing it the British way under article 50 procedures. It could for instance first do its best to cause havoc from the inside in order to leverage and strengthen its position during exit negotiations.

from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2zuQcqb
via IFTTT