German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday warned Britain against “cherry picking” ahead of negotiations for it to leave the European Union. She firmly expressed that the United Kingdom would not be able to dictate terms of its future ties with the EU. “There must be and will be a noticeable difference between whether a country wants to be a member of the European Union family or not,” she said.
Her comments come after the frontrunner to lead the British Conservative Party, Boris Johnson, said the UK would be allowed access to the EU’s single market after Brexit. On Friday, Britain had voted to exit the 28-member EU.
At the European Parliament convened on Tuesday, EU President Donald Tusk suggested a meeting of the remaining 27 EU nations in September to discuss Britain’s exit, or Brexit as it has come to be known.
The session also saw European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker ask Brexit lawmakers and United Kingdom Independence Party members, including its leader Nigel Farage, why they had attended the session. Junker broke away from his speech text to say, “That's the last time you are applauding here... and to some extent I'm really surprised you are here. You are fighting for the exit. The British people voted in favour of the exit. Why are you here?”
Meanwhile, British opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to resign after losing a no confidence vote, 172 votes to 40. Lawmakers have accused Corbyn of doing too little to ensure Britain remained with the EU. The standoff between Corbyn and his party members has deepened the ongoing leadership crisis in the UK. Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation soon after Brexit results were in.
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