On Wednesday, MEPs returned to the UK legislative elections which saw Prime Minister Theresa May lose her majority last week. They expressed particular concern at the fact that negotiations on the exit from the EU are still at a standstill. The British Prime Minister had convened general elections to try to widen her majority and to negotiate with the EU from a position of strength, but Mrs May lost her bet. "Theresa May played and she lost, and the country is deeply divided," said EPP group leader Manfred Weber, saying that Mrs May's hard-won Brexit "does not offer many options".
The Liberal group leader, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, has listed a series of questions that remain open after last week's elections: Will the "hard Brexit" hypothesis be maintained? Does the British government still want to leave the customs union and the single market? How will the agreement of Good Friday, concluded with Ireland, be protected?
The leader of the Social Democrats, Gianni Pittella, preferred to congratulate the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and his "magnificent victory".
British leader Nigel Farage said that "all seem to be happy about the results of the British elections, but 85% of British voters voted for parties that advocate leaving the single market and the European Union." "Theresa's atrocious campaign has cast a shadow over these facts", said Farage, who assured that "there is a certainty in this whole bazaar: we will leave the EU."
The Brussels Times
