PARIS: The EU has more pressing priorities than Britain’s future relationship with the bloc, starting with its own future, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.
EU leaders last week rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposals for post-Brexit trade, standing firm on their position that the plan would undermine their cherished single market.
“The British made their choice, that’s fine. Excuse me to say so brutally, but there are more important things for us than the future of the United Kingdom. It’s the future of the European Union,” Le Maire told a small group of foreign journalists on Tuesday.
“Any decision that gives European citizens the impression that you can leave the European Union and keep all the advantages would be suicidal,” he added.
He said the priority was to strengthen the euro zone, notably by completing plans for a backstop for its bank resolution fund and creating a shared budget, so that it could cope with a new financial or economic crisis.
Paris is reluctant to let Britain’s EU divorce talks drag on and President Emmanuel Macron said last week that he expected Britain to put forward new proposals next month.
May has insisted she is sticking with her “Chequers” plan, despite fierce opposition from some in her party. She has complained that the EU had not given her detailed reasons for its rebuff.
Macron’s cabinet is holding meetings every two weeks to ensure practical preparations are in place should Britain leave the EU without a post-Brexit agreement in place.
Le Maire said far more was at stake for Britain as all estimates indicated Brexit would have only a limited impact on French economic growth.
EU has more pressing priorities than Brexit — French finance minister
EU has more pressing priorities than Brexit — French finance minister
- EU leaders last week rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposals for post-Brexit trade
- Paris is reluctant to let Britain’s EU divorce talks drag on
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
- They accuse authorities of abandoning prison safety policies
- Several of the imprisoned activists have been hospitalized
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework for prison safety, The Independent reported.
A pre-action letter was sent to Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists.
It came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating health while on hunger strike.
They say they have sent several letters to Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a “matter of urgency.”
The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
An “urgent meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran Ahmed, 28.
They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair due to health concerns.
Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and need specialized medical care.
In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors, Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications, including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.”
The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed.
They are also urging the government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other demands.
In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
