Special European Council (Art 50): hard Brexit is not unavoidable

Commenting on today’s Special European Council (Art. 50), European Green Party Co-chairs Monica Frassoni and Reinhard Bütikofer said: 

"When it comes to the Brexit issue, the EU shows an extraordinary degree of unity, and Member States don’t run around like headless chicken. We would like to see such a unified position also when it comes to economic policies that put investments in the centre, and when it comes to tax evasion.

“From our side, in the course of the Brexit negotiations, we will work together with our British Member parties and civil society in order to make it clear that hard Brexit is not unavoidable. Rights of both EU and UK citizens, environment  and fight against tax competition and elusion are in the interest of both parts, except for the conservative government of Theresa May. This result will be more easily achieved if negotiations are transparent and open to the scrutiny of media and civil society.

"In the next two years the EU needs to take into account the powerful signal sent by the majority of the UK citizens and deeply review its political and economic priorities towards an effective support of ecological investments, education and innovation. 

Brussels, 29 April 2017