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4 Quotes From Theresa May’s Speech and What They Mean | 4 Quotes From Theresa May’s Speech and What They Mean |
(35 minutes later) | |
LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday was the first public outline of how Britain intends to withdraw from the European Union. What’s her plan? | LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday was the first public outline of how Britain intends to withdraw from the European Union. What’s her plan? |
This was an explicit recognition of the fundamental tension between the government’s basic ambitions: unencumbered trade with the European Union, but also control of Britain’s borders and laws — issues that the prime minister identified as the primary force behind voters’ decision to leave the bloc. To gain that control, her priorities are twofold: controlling migration and exiting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Not accepting the court’s rulings means leaving the internal single market, which requires the free movement of capital and services. Without this free movement, it is likely that Britain’s lauded financial services industry will lose some of the rights that give it unfettered access to Europe. | |
Mrs. May wants a new deal on customs. The current agreement eliminates tariffs between European Union countries but limits their ability to strike individual trade deals with non-European nations. Throughout her speech, she repeatedly said that Britain wanted new deals with non-European Union countries such as India and China. She said she wanted a “truly global Britain” with the ability to negotiate trade agreements and also to maintain tariff-free business with Europe. | |
The June 23 referendum caused much anxiety and uncertainty for the roughly 3.2 million E.U. citizens living in Britain and the 1.2 million Britons living in other member countries. Mrs. May’s latest comments are the same as those she expressed in November, when she refused to guarantee the rights of European residents in Britain unless the rights of British people living in Europe were also protected. Amid the uncertainty, the Home Office has been overwhelmed by applications for permanent residence. | The June 23 referendum caused much anxiety and uncertainty for the roughly 3.2 million E.U. citizens living in Britain and the 1.2 million Britons living in other member countries. Mrs. May’s latest comments are the same as those she expressed in November, when she refused to guarantee the rights of European residents in Britain unless the rights of British people living in Europe were also protected. Amid the uncertainty, the Home Office has been overwhelmed by applications for permanent residence. |
Since the referendum, Britain’s European partners have taken a hard line, warning that it cannot have an à la carte membership in which it cherry-picks the benefits it wants to retain. Some European leaders have also said that Britain should be punished in some way to deter other countries from trying to leave the European Union. | |
In her speech, Mrs. May emphasized Britain’s friendship with Europe and said that the nation did not seek to unravel the union. But those comments were quickly followed by the threat that punitive measures against Britain could easily backfire. Case in point: This week, Philip Hammond, the chancellor of the Exchequer, suggested that Britain could transform itself into a corporate tax haven if the European Union failed to strike a trade agreement with the country. |
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