Monday, May 14, 2018
UK Government hypocrisy or irony on EU?
The British poet, Elizabeth Bibesco, once said that 'Irony is the hygiene of the mind' but there is nothing cleansing about the hypocritic decision by the UK Government to host a summit encouraging six European countries to join the EU for the sake of their “security, stability and prosperity”, months before it is due to sign its own Brexit withdrawal deal with Brussels.
The Independent reports that in July London will play host to Western Balkans governments including Serbia and Albania, as well as existing EU member states, to discuss reforms to pave the way to future EU enlargement:
The paper says that the summit is part of the so-called Berlin Process, a series of meetings aimed at supporting the region towards joining the bloc and described by the European parliament’s research arm as “bringing a new perspective and impetus to the enlargement process”:
The leaders of EU candidate countries Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia will attend, as well as those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo – two states who have both expressed an interest in joining the bloc but have not yet been accepted as candidates.
They will be joined by representatives of the governments of EU countries with an interest in the region such as Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
Asked about the summit and the UK’s position on the Western Balkans’ membership of the EU, a Foreign Office spokesperson told The Independent: “We remain of the view that the EU accession process is important to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans.
It is a shame that the UK Government does not take the same view about UK membership of the EU.
The Independent reports that in July London will play host to Western Balkans governments including Serbia and Albania, as well as existing EU member states, to discuss reforms to pave the way to future EU enlargement:
The paper says that the summit is part of the so-called Berlin Process, a series of meetings aimed at supporting the region towards joining the bloc and described by the European parliament’s research arm as “bringing a new perspective and impetus to the enlargement process”:
The leaders of EU candidate countries Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia will attend, as well as those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo – two states who have both expressed an interest in joining the bloc but have not yet been accepted as candidates.
They will be joined by representatives of the governments of EU countries with an interest in the region such as Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
Asked about the summit and the UK’s position on the Western Balkans’ membership of the EU, a Foreign Office spokesperson told The Independent: “We remain of the view that the EU accession process is important to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans.
It is a shame that the UK Government does not take the same view about UK membership of the EU.
