PRESS RELEASE
EUROPEAN GREEN PARTY CO-CHAIR MONICA FRASSONI ON BRATISLAVA SUMMIT
Ahead of the informal meeting of the 27 heads of state or government in Bratislava, the European Green Party co-chair Monica Frassoni said:
“Brexit talks should not remain within the strict limits of an inter-governmental negotiation. We have to support the efforts of those in the UK, like the Greens, which strive to keep as much as possible the ‘acquis communautaire' in the areas of environment, freedom of circulation and establishment. It is necessary to prevent the UK from becoming a wild, liberalist kind of country, which suspends the Charter of Fundamental rights, becomes sealed for migrants, offers free space both for racist attacks and for tax avoiding multinationals.
“After the referendum on Brexit, we must avoid falling into a self-fulfilling prophecy of disintegration. The ‘ever closer Union’ remains a relevant target and an indispensable tool of changing the world towards more peace, justice and sustainability. We need to prevent that the EU slowly ends up in an irrelevant and quarrelsome gathering of national governments.
“We don't believe that among the lessons of the UK referendum there is the need to reduce the scope and action of EU institutions and to renationalise EU competences. This would indeed mark the victory of nationalist forces. It is not true that Europeans do not want more Europe or a better one. They want a EU which delivers on key issues like jobs, economic and social welfare, freedom and security. And which is able to act according to democratic and transparent rules where they feel they have a say. We believe that the approach of Mr. Tusk, according to which national governments are the only owners of the EU decision-making is a step back, as it dismantles decades of European solidarity and rule of law. His asserted priority of ensuring security only by sealing external borders without taking any responsibility for the need of assisting asylum seekers, represents a dangerous step back on legal and human rights obligations long established at international level.
“We believe the EU must find its own way out of political, institutional and even ‘emotional’ stagnation in which it finds itself, particularly because of unsuitable policies and decision-making processes which too often just lead to blockages and power struggles. With or without the United Kingdom, we need visible results on unemployment and on a common economic perspective of solidarity, which will lead us out of austerity and the Fortress Europe approach on migration and security.”
