Menu
Tue, 19 March 2024

Newsletter sign-up

Subscribe now
The House Live All
Data: driving the UK’s growth and productivity Partner content
Economy
UK leadership in international development Partner content
By Jill Rutter
Brexit
Press releases

President Macron talks up ‘unrivalled ties’ between France and the UK

2 min read

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has praised the "strength of our unrivalled ties" he defended his "tough" approach to Brexit negotiations.


Writing in The Times this morning, he said: “Dear British friends, you are leaving the European Union but you are not leaving Europe.

“Nor are you becoming detached from France or the friendship of its people. The Channel has never managed to separate our destinies; Brexit will not do so, either.”

Describing Britain’s departure from the EU as a "shock", he said: “I am thinking of the hundreds of thousands of French citizens in the UK and British citizens in France who are wondering about their rights and their future: I assure them that we will protect them.

“In this respect, I know the feeling – however you voted in 2016 – that France was ‘tough’ from the start of the Brexit negotiation. I wanted to defend the existential principles of the way the European Union functions: compliance with our rules within the single market, European unity, and stability in Ireland. 

“These are not bureaucratic inflexibilities but the very foundations of the European edifice.”

Elsewhere, EU President, Ursula von der Leyen warned: “Strength does not lie in splendid isolation, but in our unique Union.”

EUROPEAN COMMISSION: BILLION BILLED

As speeches were made throughout the UK and Brussels to mark the historic day, Britain was told to pay an extra £1.09 billion to the European Commission. 

It comes as part of an annual recalculation of member states’ contributions to the EU budget. The £1.09 billion figure was reached after taking into account an increase in Gross National Income and VAT contributions.

Britain’s contributions in 2019 totalled £9 billion so if the figure is similar for 2020, the potentially penultimate payment could reach £10 billion. 

PoliticsHome Newsletters

PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe

Read the most recent article written by Murray Jones - Sajid Javid contemplates raiding high earners’ pensions in March Budget

Podcast
Engineering a Better World

The Engineering a Better World podcast series from The House magazine and the IET is back for series two! New host Jonn Elledge discusses with parliamentarians and industry experts how technology and engineering can provide policy solutions to our changing world.

NEW SERIES - Listen now