The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, stated this Wednesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that “the reality is that the United Kingdom needs us, but, to a certain extent, we also need the United Kingdom”.
This was Roberta Metsola's statement at a briefing organised by New Economy Forum in the EU capital, during which she welcomed the agreements reached with the United Kingdom last Monday, which represent a crucial rapprochement after Brexit.
Metsola noted that the European Union and the United Kingdom signed a new agreement this week that deepens cooperation on trade, as well as on fisheries and other matters. With this, she explained, “we are harmonising key food standards and facilitating trade in agricultural and fishery products”.
In addition, a youth mobility agreement was signed “that will make it easier for young people to study, work, and live across borders”. The EU also integrated the United Kingdom into its rearmament program, "because a more secure Europe can only be achieved with the support of the United Kingdom, that's obvious”.
The President of the European Parliament asserted that these agreements should be celebrated, which she attributed to the leadership of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, commenting that "he is under strong attacks, not only from the opposition, but also, to a certain extent, from his own ranks”.
Metsola expressed confidence that the agreements will receive Parliament's approval and argued that they have "excellent relations with the House of Commons and the House of Lords”.”.
She also expressed confidence that they will reduce "the tension we experienced during almost a decade of anti-European rhetoric". "In the European Parliament, we were the ones who experienced it day after day; it was painful”.
Finally, she asserted that "it's good to see the circle has returned," adding that "it shows that, in a way, economics can prevail over politics, but it takes politics to achieve that”.
