Babak Belurs

Jumat, 24 Mei 2019

EU 'failed' over UK's Brexit vote, says Juncker - BBC News

EU leaders have praised Theresa May's "courage" and "determination", but French President Emmanuel Macron also urged "swift clarification" on Brexit.

Mr Macron said Mrs May had done "courageous work" on Brexit, in his response to her resignation statement.

But he stressed the need to "maintain the smooth functioning of the EU, which requires swift clarification".

Earlier, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU had "failed" over the UK's 2016 vote to exit the EU.

"Here we failed, because we didn't adopt the position that was necessary. Abstention is not a position," he told the German public broadcaster ARD.

Prime Minister May's withdrawal agreement - reached with the EU in November after arduous negotiations - has been rejected three times by Westminster MPs.

'Woman of courage'

Mr Juncker said there was "no change" in the EU position on that agreement, commenting on Mrs May's decision on Friday to step down on 7 June as Conservative Party leader.

He described her as "a woman of courage" for whom he "has great respect", his spokesperson said.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier also voiced "full respect" for Mrs May, "for her determination, as Prime Minister, in working towards the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU".

The withdrawal agreement's terms for keeping the Northern Ireland border open and free of physical infrastructure - the so-called "backstop" - are a major stumbling block for the UK parliament.

Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar has won solid support from fellow EU leaders on the backstop.

He thanked Mrs May for "agreeing with us to retain and strengthen the Common Travel Area", which ensures reciprocal rights for Irish and British citizens in each other's countries, "as though we were citizens of both".

That arrangement, he said, "will withstand Brexit whatever form it takes".

EU respect tinged with frustration

By Adam Fleming, BBC News, Brussels

The EU establishment, like everyone, marvelled at Theresa May's amazing ability to stay standing.

"If you're a lion tamer you're going to get bitten," said one diplomat this morning. They were grateful that she respected the rules of the negotiations and didn't rock the boat on other EU business.

EU leaders would bolster her position when things got tough - a photo-op here, some complimentary words there. But they weren't prepared to compromise on the big one - the backstop to prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland - because they think it's already a compromise.

They think it took her too long to realise - or admit - that the UK's economy required something that looked like a customs union. And they were amazed at her regular misreading of her own party and parliament.

EU Brexit negotiators have been war-gaming potential replacements for weeks and the scenario that seems to have been considered most seriously is a Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for changes to the backstop that cannot be granted, and then blaming the EU.

But there's been no formal discussion about what comes next. That will probably happen at a summit of leaders next week, supposedly about appointments to the EU's top jobs and now inevitably about Brexit.

Juncker's Brexit regrets

Speaking before Mrs May announced her resignation, Mr Juncker asked: "How could anybody else achieve what she couldn't?"

"If you tell people for 40 or 45 years 'we're in it, but not really in it', we're part-time Europeans and we don't like these full-time Europeans, then you should not be surprised if people follow simple slogans once they're asked to vote in a referendum."

The UK's previous prime minister, David Cameron, clashed with Mr Juncker over the EU budget and other issues before arguing - unsuccessfully - to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum.

EU institutional shake-up

Mr Juncker will be replaced by a new Commission chief - not yet chosen - in November. New leaders will be chosen for all the EU institutions after the 23-26 May European elections.

He belongs to the centre-right European People's Party, the bloc which won the last European elections in 2014.

He voiced hope that the UK would leave the EU by 31 October - the new deadline set by EU leaders. The UK did not meet the planned 29 March deadline as exit terms had not been ratified.

Mr Juncker denied that the UK Brexit vote was a personal defeat for him.

"Nobody listens to me in Britain anyway. They should, but they don't. There was nobody in Britain who confronted the lie with the incontrovertible truth," he said.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48397871

2019-05-24 12:29:43Z
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Theresa May to resign as prime minister - BBC News

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Theresa May has said she will quit as Conservative leader on 7 June, paving the way for a contest to decide a new prime minister.

In an emotional statement, she said she had done her best to deliver Brexit and it was a matter of "deep regret" that she had been unable to do so.

Being prime minister had been the "honour of my life", she said.

Mrs May said she would continue to serve as PM while a Conservative leadership contest takes place.

It means she will still be prime minister when US President Donald Trump makes his state visit to the UK at the start of June.

Mrs May announced she would step down as Tory leader on 7 June and had agreed with the chairman of Tory backbenchers that a leadership contest should begin the following week.

Boris Johnson, Esther McVey and Rory Stewart have said they intend to run for the party leadership, while more than a dozen others are believed to be seriously considering entering the contest.

The prime minister has faced a backlash from her MPs against her latest Brexit plan, which included concessions aimed at attracting cross-party support.

Andrea Leadsom quit as Commons leader on Wednesday saying she no longer believed the government's approach would "deliver on the referendum result".

Mrs May met Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt at Downing Street on Thursday where they are understood to have expressed their concerns about her proposed withdrawal bill.

In her statement on Friday, she said she had done "everything I can" to convince MPs to support the withdrawal deal she had negotiated with the European Union but it was now in the "best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort".

She added that, in order to deliver Brexit, her successor would have to build agreement in Parliament.

"Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise," she said.

Theresa May outside Number 10 Downing Street

Theresa May at the top

6 yearsbefore that, as home secretary
Failed to win 2017 general election outright, but stayed PM
Remainvoter in the 2016 EU referendum
Brexit dominated her time at 10 Downing Street

BBC

Mrs May's voice shook as she ended her speech saying: "I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold.

"The second female prime minister, but certainly not the last.

"I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love."

Did Theresa May solve her 'burning injustices'?

In a statement, the Conservative Party said the likely timetable for the party leadership contest was that nominations would close during the week beginning 10 June, with the process of whittling down candidates to the final two to conclude by the end of the month.

Those names would then be put to a vote of party members before the end of July.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said she had been "right to resign" and that the Conservative Party was now "disintegrating".

A series of Conservative MPs praised Mrs May following her statement.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said she was a "true public servant":

Chief whip Julian Smith praised her commitment to the country as "outstanding":

And Chancellor Philip Hammond said it had been a "privilege" to serve alongside her:

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wished her well despite "profound disagreements", including on Brexit, but added: "The prospect of an even more hardline Brexiteer now becoming PM and threatening a no-deal exit is deeply concerning.

"Added to the experience of the past three years, this makes it all the more important that Scotland is given the choice of becoming an independent country."

Democratic Unionist Party Leader Arlene Foster, whose party supported Mrs May's government in power after the Conservatives lost their majority in the 2017 election, praised Mrs May's "dutiful approach on national issues".

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said it was Mrs May's compromises with the right-wing of her party were to blame, adding: "The best and only option remains to take Brexit back to the people. I believe the public would now choose to stop Brexit."

But Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage said two Conservative leaders whose "instincts were pro-EU" had now gone and the party either "learns that lesson, or it dies".

Following her emotional coda to her statement on the steps of Downing Street, expect the tributes to Theresa May to flood in, even from those pushing her from office.

Her resilience. Her determination. Her sense of duty.

Ultimately, though, her premiership fell apart in an attempt to bring people together.

Her Brexit deal stymied by too many of her own MPs, she tried to reach out across the Commons.

But in proposing a vote on a referendum - even though she expected MPs to reject another public vote - she over-reached.

Some members of her cabinet who are manoeuvring to replace her withdrew their consent from her latest plan, effectively throwing out its compromises and her leadership.

She pointed today to some of her achievements in office but frankly she has had to announce the timetable for her departure before securing the legacy she desired - leaving the EU with a deal.

In a hung parliament, the question now is whether the next Conservative leader will be able to succeed where she failed.

Or whether something more radical will be required: no deal, a new referendum, or a general election.

More on May

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48395905

2019-05-24 11:43:59Z
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Theresa May to Quit as U.K. Prime Minister - The Wall Street Journal

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after announcing her resignation outside 10 Downing Street, London on May 24. Photo: tolga akmen/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Max Colchester

The Wall Street Journal

Biography
@MaximColch
Max.Colchester@wsj.com

Updated May 24, 2019 7:12 a.m. ET

LONDON—Theresa May said she would quit as British prime minister once her party chooses a successor after failing repeatedly to win parliamentary backing for the Brexit divorce agreement she negotiated with the European Union.

With little prospect of getting her deal passed, three years after the U.K. voted to leave the bloc, Mrs. May said the race to find her replacement would formally begin after she quits as head of her party on June 7.

“It is now clear to me that it is in the best interest of the country for a new prime minister,” she said during a statement on the steps of 10 Downing Street. Mrs. May, her voice breaking, spoke of her sadness at no longer serving as prime minister and urged lawmakers to compromise over Brexit.

The decision formally sets off a race to succeed her as the leader of the Conservative Party and of the government, one that is likely to be won by a supporter of a sharper breakaway from the EU than that embodied in Mrs. May’s deal. Conservative officials aim to select a new leader by the end of July.

After May

If the Conservatives succeed in forcing Theresa May to resign, here’s what needs to happen for the next Prime Minister to take office.

Candidates must be proposed and seconded in writing

If there are more than three candidates, Conservative MPs vote in multiple rounds, with the one gathering the least votes dropping out, until there are two candidates left

All party members get to vote on the remaining two candidates

The new leader would become the new Prime Minister and would not be obliged to call

an early election

Source: House of Commons

Among the questions that loom large for the next prime minister will be whether to push for a no-deal exit from the bloc on Oct. 31 and whether to attempt to break a log jam in Parliament by calling a general election.

“Whoever becomes the new Conservative leader must let the people decide our country’s future, through an immediate General Election,” said opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday.

Mrs. May, who voted for keeping Britain in the EU, was nominated as prime minister after the 2016 Brexit referendum, promising to deliver a total break with the EU. Unwinding 45 years of trading relations proved hard to deliver, however, and Mrs. May was ultimately trapped between Conservative ministers and lawmakers who wanted an abrupt and total departure from the EU and those who advocated keeping close economic ties with the bloc.

“It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit,” Mrs. May said.

Mrs. May’s effort to forge a middle path ended up alienating both factions. Disenchantment was amplified after she called an election in 2017 that cost the Conservatives their majority in Parliament.

It isn’t clear who will now lead the monumental task of steering the U.K. out of the EU. Conservative lawmakers have been jostling for months to position themselves as future party leaders.

“To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not,” Mrs. May said.

Several of those at the front of the pack, including former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, advocate a more abrupt split with the EU than the one Mrs. May hoped to secure, raising the possibility of a likely disruptive U.K. exit from the bloc without a deal.

Prime Minister Theresa May pictured with the then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, on June 12, 2017. Photo: Leon Neal/Zuma Press

The pound has been falling against the dollar ahead of the announcement as traders fret about the economic shock of a no-deal Brexit and worry an early election could bring the socialist Labour Party to power.

Investors widely expected Mrs. May’s departure, and the currency edged up less than half a percentage point in the hours after the announcement, trading for $1.271, still close to its lowest point against the dollar all year.

Mrs. May took over as party leader and prime minister after her predecessor David Cameron resigned following the 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU. Her almost three years in charge have been consumed by the effort to take the U.K. out of the EU with the deal she negotiated with the bloc.

Her time in office was punctuated by U-turns and constant political firefighting as she sought to keep her Conservative Party from self-combusting over Britain’s relations with Europe.

Thanks in large part to a hard core of anti-EU lawmakers who said Mrs. May’s deal would keep the U.K. too closely tied to the bloc, she couldn’t push it through Parliament. Brexit has now twice been delayed and the current deadline for quitting the trade bloc is Oct. 31.

The 2016 Brexit referendum, a supposed cathartic process to heal deep divisions in the Conservative Party over the country’s relationship with its biggest trading partner, has instead sowed chaos among Britain’s political class.

On three occasions, Mrs. May tried and failed to get lawmakers to back a divorce deal with the EU. The issue has split both the Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party into groups that believe Brexit should be delivered at all costs; those that think it should only happen on the basis of a deal with the EU; and those that continue to oppose it.

A leadership race will now play out over the summer as Conservative lawmakers vote to whittle potential leaders down to two candidates. The Conservative Party’s 120,000 members then pick their preferred candidate. Conservative members are, on the whole, more in favor of the U.K. leaving with no deal than is the wider pool of Conservative voters.

Under British convention, the prime minister is the leader of the party that commands a majority in the House of Commons, which the minority Conservatives do because they have the backing of the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland.

Mrs. May’s gradual political demise has given her potential successors ample time to prepare their pitches. Many have already been laying the ground work for the leadership bids. Mr. Johnson, a former foreign secretary who resigned from Mrs. May’s cabinet in protest last year, is a firm favorite to replace her and has already said he would run for leader of the party.

Others, including Mr. Raab and current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, have been making a series of wide-ranging speeches. Mr. Johnson’s strident pro-Brexit views chime well with a part of the party, but to get selected he will have to win over more party moderates.

Mr. Johnson has one attribute that Mrs. May crucially lacked: he is seen as a vote winner, analysts and lawmakers say.

Despite proving popular with the Conservative base, Mrs. May saw her tenure quickly turn into a prolonged battle of attrition. No British leader in modern times has endured such a sustained revolt from within his or her own party.

A fifth of all British ministers who quit government since 1979 have done so under Mrs. May’s relatively brief tenure. In January, her Brexit plan suffered the biggest British parliamentary defeat in living memory. By then her own party had already tried and failed to oust her.

A small cadre of Conservative lawmakers quit to join a new centrist grouping in protest of her handling of Brexit, a defection of a sort that is rare in the British political system.

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Mrs. May interpreted the Brexit vote as a cry to clamp down on EU immigration. Many in her party saw it differently. A cluster of libertarian Conservative lawmakers who run an association called the European Research Group, wanted the U.K. to make a sharp break with the EU and cut regulation. Pro-European Conservatives meanwhile wanted close trading ties with the bloc to bolster the British economy.

Both factions were appalled by the deal Mrs. May hashed out with EU leaders last year to get the U.K. out of the EU. The compromise agreement slackened economic ties with the bloc—creating new obstacles for trade—but still left the U.K. relatively closely bound to the EU. It pleased no one. Her refusal to confront either the Brexiteer or the Europhile contingents in the party ultimately cost her the job as leader.

Meanwhile, voters began to abandon the Conservative Party in droves. The ruling party performed badly in local elections earlier this month and was expected to record its lowest ever national vote tally at elections for the European Parliament on Thursday with the one-issue Brexit Party as the main beneficiary.

Mrs. May’s attempt on Tuesday to win over opposition Labour lawmakers by dangling the prospect of second Brexit referendum only served to harden opposition in Conservative circles against her, precipitating her announcement.

Share Your Thoughts

How should the next prime minister approach Brexit? Join the conversation below.

Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/british-prime-minister-theresa-may-says-she-will-quit-11558688912

2019-05-24 11:12:00Z
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Theresa May expected to announce resignation - live updates - CNN International

TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images

Here's the full text of May's emotional address.

Ever since I first stepped through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone. And to honor the result of the EU referendum.
Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice. Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union. I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide. I have done my best to do that.
I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbors that protects jobs, our security and our Union. I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly, I have not been able to do so.
I tried three times.
I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new Prime Minister to lead that effort.
So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7 June so that a successor can be chosen.
I have agreed with the Party Chairman and with the Chairman of the 1922 Committee that the process for electing a new leader should begin in the following week.
I have kept Her Majesty the Queen fully informed of my intentions, and I will continue to serve as her Prime Minister until the process has concluded.
It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit. It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honors the result of the referendum.
To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not. Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise.
For many years the great humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton – who saved the lives of hundreds of children by arranging their evacuation from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia through the Kindertransport – was my constituent in Maidenhead.
At another time of political controversy, a few years before his death, he took me to one side at a local event and gave me a piece of advice. He said, ‘Never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise.’ He was right.
As we strive to find the compromises we need in our politics – whether to deliver Brexit, or to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland – we must remember what brought us here.
Because the referendum was not just a call to leave the EU but for profound change in our country. A call to make the United Kingdom a country that truly works for everyone. I am proud of the progress we have made over the last three years.
We have completed the work that David Cameron and George Osborne started: the deficit is almost eliminated, our national debt is falling and we are bringing an end to austerity.
My focus has been on ensuring that the good jobs of the future will be created in communities across the whole country, not just in London and the South East, through our Modern Industrial Strategy.
We have helped more people than ever enjoy the security of a job.
We are building more homes and helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder - so young people can enjoy the opportunities their parents did.
And we are protecting the environment, eliminating plastic waste, tackling climate change and improving air quality.
This is what a decent, moderate and patriotic Conservative Government, on the common ground of British politics, can achieve - even as we tackle the biggest peacetime challenge any government has faced.
I know that the Conservative Party can renew itself in the years ahead. That we can deliver Brexit and serve the British people with policies inspired by our values. Security; freedom; opportunity. Those values have guided me throughout my career.
But the unique privilege of this office is to use this platform to give a voice to the voiceless, to fight the burning injustices that still scar our society.
That is why I put proper funding for mental health at the heart of our NHS long-term plan.
It is why I am ending the postcode lottery for survivors of domestic abuse. It is why the Race Disparity Audit and gender pay reporting are shining a light on inequality, so it has nowhere to hide.
And that is why I set up the independent public inquiry into the tragedy at Grenfell Tower – to search for the truth, so nothing like it can ever happen again, and so the people who lost their lives that night are never forgotten.
Because this country is a Union. Not just a family of four nations. But a union of people – all of us.
Whatever our background, the color of our skin, or who we love. We stand together. And together we have a great future.
Our politics may be under strain, but there is so much that is good about this country. So much to be proud of. So much to be optimistic about.
I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold – the second female Prime Minister but certainly not the last.
I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.

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https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/theresa-may-resignation-announcement-0524-gbr-intl/index.html

2019-05-24 10:02:00Z
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Kamis, 23 Mei 2019

Chagos Islands dispute: UN backs end to UK control - BBC News

The UN has passed a resolution demanding the UK return control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

In the non-binding vote in the General Assembly in New York, 116 states were in favour and only six against, a major diplomatic blow to the UK.

Fifty-six states, including France and Germany, abstained.

Mauritius says it was forced to give up the Indian Ocean group - now a British overseas territory - in 1965 in exchange for independence.

In a statement to the BBC, the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said Britain did not recognise Mauritius' claim to sovereignty, but would stand by an earlier commitment to hand over control of the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for defence purposes.

The US, Hungary, Israel, Australia and the Maldives were the states voting with the UK against the resolution.

It comes months after the UN's high court advised that the UK should leave the islands "as rapidly as possible".

UK warns of setting precedent

Analysis by Nada Tawfik, BBC News, New York

The fundamental question before the General Assembly was whether the decades-long dispute was at its heart a matter of decolonisation, or a bilateral sovereignty issue to be worked out between the UK and Mauritius alone.

The vote was decisive, with 115 countries standing with Mauritius.

Former colonies were also clear in their position. India said support for decolonisation was one of the most significant contributions that the UN had made towards the promotion of fundamental human rights.

UK ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce, along with the United States, warned that the vote would set a precedent that should be of concern to all member states with their own sovereignty disputes.

Britain purchased the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 for £3m, creating a region known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Between 1967 and 1973, it evicted the islands' entire population to make way for a joint military base with the US, which is still in place on Diego Garcia.

US planes have been sent from the base to bomb Afghanistan and Iraq. The facility was also reportedly used as a "black site" by the CIA to interrogate terrorism suspects. In 2016, the lease for the base was extended until 2036.

"The joint UK-US defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe from terrorism, organised crime and piracy," the FCO said.

Before Wednesday's vote, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravid Kumar Jug-Nauth told the General Assembly the forcible eviction of Chagossians was akin to a crime against humanity.

However, he said Mauritius would allow the military base to continue operating "in accordance with international law", if it were given control of the islands.

Mr Jug-Nauth said this would give the facility a "higher degree of legal certainty" for the future.

The UK has maintained that Mauritius gave up the territory freely in return for a range of benefits.

Ambassador Pierce has insisted that the issue should be resolved only by the countries involved.

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2019-05-23 13:59:51Z
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