Bitter Exchanges as EU Parliament Debates Brexit

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bbc.com

Brexit vote: Bitter exchanges as EUparliament debates Brexit - BBC News

Image copyright AP

Image caption Speakers turned their fire on Nigel Farage, a key

campaigner for the Leave side of the British vote

There have been bitter exchanges in the European Parliament

during a debate on the British vote to leave the EU.

Much of the anger was aimed at leading Leave campaigner, UKIP's

Nigel Farage, who was at one point accused of using "Nazi

propaganda".

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is to meet European Union

t vote: Bitter exchanges as EU parliament debates Brexit - BBC News about:reader?url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-refere

6/28/2016


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leaders for the first time since the UK voted to leave later on

Tuesday.

He is stepping down to allow his successor to conduct exit

negotiations.

Opening the session at the European Parliament, European

Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker urged the UK to clarify its

position on Brexit as soon as possible.

He said he has imposed a ban on any EU commissioner talking to

the British government before it formalises its intention to withdraw

from the bloc.

Mr Cameron has said it will be up to the next prime minister when to

trigger the formal method by which a country leaves the EU, Article

50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

In his statement to the parliament, Mr Juncker said the will of the

British people must be respected, prompting applause from UK

Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, a key campaigner

behind the leave vote.

"You were fighting for the exit, the British people voted in favour of

the exit. Why are you here?" Mr Junker said to him.

Others went much further. Belgian ex-PM Guy Verhofstadt, and

leader of the liberal group in the European parliament, said Mr

Farage had used "Nazi propaganda" in the campaign, referring to a

poster showing lines of refugees.


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Media captionShouts greeted Jean-Claude Juncker as he said "I am not a

robot, I am not a bureaucrat"

In a veiled condemnation of Leave campaigner Boris Johnson, and

likely contender to be the next British Prime Minister, Mr Verhofstadt

attacked "the selfishness of one man prepared to do anything to

become the prime minister of the UK".

Manfred Weber, the chairman of the European People's Party

grouping, said: "The times of appeasement are over. We have to

stand up for our European project."

"Apologise to the British, shame on you," he told Mr Farage, adding:

"Stop this populist Brussels bashing."

Hitting back, Mr Farage told parliament that they were "in denial".

"We now offer a beacon of hope to democrats across the European

continent," he said. "The UK will not be the last member state to

leave the EU."

But in a speech to the German parliament, Chancellor Angela

Merkel said that the EU was strong enough to survive without the

UK.

She said she respected the result, but warned the bloc would not

tolerate British "cherry-picking" when it came to negotiations.


6/28/2016

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Bitter Exchanges as EU Parliament Debates Brexit