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The European Union negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier, called on pro-European forces to defend this fragile union against populism, saying that there is now "a farage in every country".
In a speech delivered at the conference of the powerful center-right European People's Party (EPP), Barnier did not detail the deadlock talks on Brexit, but warned that the EU project was "under threat" ".
"We will have to fight against those who want to demolish Europe with their fear, their populist deception," he told more than 700 EPP delegates in Helsinki, before appointing the former leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage.
In a broad speech that went from European defense to electric vehicles, he mentioned Brexit only to promise to "fulfill until the end his mission for Brexit" and to make a little introductory joke saying that his speech would be brief because "time flies".
Barnier then expressed that the Brexit negotiations were deadlocked on the issue of Irish support – an insurance plan designed to avoid creating a hard border on the island of Ireland. 39; Ireland. A crucial cabinet meeting to agree on the UK's Brexit negotiating position has been postponed from Thursday to the weekend or early next week, as high-ranking ministers have to question whether ministers high ranking should receive full legal advice from the government.
Barnier, a former French foreign minister with a long career in center-right politics, has also vilely criticized French President Emmanuel Macron, who seeks to portray himself as a defender of liberal and multilateral values for the country. Europe, against the most distant populists. on the right and on the far left.
"We must also respond to those who think that the defense of Europe belongs to a single party," said Barnier, not to mention the name of Macron. "More than ever, Europe needs the founding vision of the EPP. We are patriotic and European. "
In talking about the threat of climate change and the need to "rid our cities of smog and particles," Barnier revealed that his first granddaughter would be born in a few weeks. "By 2050, when our children are 32, what will our environment look like if we continue to use the resources of three planets a year?", He said.
He also called for a European action to invest in new space technologies and artificial intelligence, while revealing his concern over the loss of Europe facing China or the big tech companies. "The four GAFA are bigger than Germany[’s economy], He said, using the acronym of French inspiration to refer to Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.
Delegates also heard European leaders Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, but neither of them mentioned the Brexit in their brief speeches.
High-ranking EU politicians see little political capital in Brexit and a leading European source told the Guardian that they would now cancel a trip to the UK if their agenda was too busy. "I would rather go to Prague or Warsaw than London, because I can not build anything with the UK."
Meanwhile, the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has reiterated his determination not to see a hard border on the island of Ireland. "We want future relations between the EU and the UK to be as close as possible," he said. "But it must offer equal conditions for all and the integrity of our single market must be preserved."
EU concern that European companies will not be put to the test by British competitors subject to more lax rules on the environment, workers' rights, state aid , health and safety, is not new. But they took center stage as both parties sought to break the stalemate on the Irish bullet-proof, hampering the November deal.
Negotiators plan to create a UK-wide customs union, a Brussels concession, which proposed a model based solely on Northern Ireland.
Barnier spoke shortly before the EPP delegates were elected to the post of President of the European Commission when Jean-Claude Juncker resigned in 2019. The party's favorite, Manfred Weber, German MEP since 2004, who heads the EPP in European Parliament, triumphed over his rival. Alexander Stubb, former Prime Minister of Finland.
The two candidates belong to different branches of the group, which is struggling to deal with its most embarrassing member, the Hungarian authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán.
Brexit, however, is one of the points on which the candidates agree: both regret the decision of the United Kingdom. "Brexit is one of the biggest transvestites in international history," said Stubb, who has a British wife and children of common nationality. "Leaving the European Union, it's a bit like leaving the Internet. You can do it, but it's a bit stupid.
Weber said the EU should show European voters in the 2019 elections that membership would present an advantage. "If you do not distinguish between being a member of the European Union and being outside, this will have a huge impact on the election campaign and that is why we have to be clear," he said. he declared. "It must make a difference when you leave the European Union."
