On the 20th September the Prime Minister of the UK, Theresa May, attended a forum in Salzburg.
Here she met with the political leaders of the EU Member States with whom the UK has been negotiating Brexit for the past two years, in the hope that they would agree in principle to the UK’s proposals for a settlement.
Whilst the gathering showed all of the potential of a constructive event, quite the opposite came to pass. On tabling the UK’s proposed settlement for Brexit, that is widely known as the Chequers Agreement, Mrs May met with a disrespectful response from certain EU leaders via social media and a general rebuttal of the Chequers Agreement. The outcome was described by the Prime Minister as an ‘impasse’, largely due to the EU’s failure to explain why the UK’s proposals are unacceptable, and the failure on the part of the EU to present alternatives for negotiation.
We are all too well aware that the clock is ticking, and that there is but a few weeks left to reach some form of agreement, in the absence of which the UK, and British territories such as Anguilla and Gibraltar that have direct borders with the EU, will have to address a No Deal Brexit and prepare for the consequences in our bid to fulfil the UK’s prophecy that nothing will change for Anguilla as a result of Brexit. I am pleased to report that at a series of meetings I recently attended with senior officials in Brussels from the French and Dutch Permanent Representative Offices, there is was a clear desire to find a way forward for Anguilla and its sister islands. The question remains, however, as to how the politicians in the Member States of the European Union will influence that desired outcome, if at all.
In the grand scheme of things, the fate of 15,000 Anguillians in the far distant Caribbean, has been a lesser priority that that of the almost two million people of Northern Ireland, whose future lies at the heart of this debacle. However, when taken in conjunction with the populations of St. Martin and its fellow French and Dutch islands in the vicinity, the negotiations hold the fate of over one hundred thousand people in the balance and reflect the nature of post Brexit relations between three key European countries.
Theresa May’s response to Salzburg was statesman – like as she took the unusual step of a live announcement from Number 10 Downing Street this afternoon. Her words and demeanour instilled sympathy within the Europe press and admiration amongst the UK public from both sides of the Brexit debate. Her statement that “neither side should demand the unacceptable of the other”, and reassurance to the three million EU nationals that currently reside in the UK that their rights will be protected, has given both the PM and the UK the moral high ground in a situation caused by a painfully close outcome of an oversimplified re ferendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU which took place in 2016.
As recommended by the EU and UK alike, we have prepared a paper on Anguilla’s Preparedness and Contingency Measures for a No Deal Brexit that may lead to an unsatisfactory relationship with the EU and its interests in the Caribbean, in the hope that it may never be required.
For more information please contact:
Charlie Wheeler
Chargé d’Affaires
Government of Anguilla London Office
charlie.wheeler@govanguillaukeu.org
– Press Release
