This Friday, January 31 at 11 p.m. GMT (London time), midnight in Paris, the European Union will lose for the first time in its history one of its members, going from 28 to 27. After a long process and painful, more than three years after the Brexit vote in 2016 and after 47 years of tumultuous union, the United Kingdom will break the moorings with old Europe, choosing the open sea, to use Churchill's formula from De Gaulle.
The final “formality” took place on January 29 in the European Parliament, with the vote of MEPs on the withdrawal treaty: 621 votes for, 49 against and 13 abstentions. As soon as the result proclaimed by the president of the Parliament, David Sassoli, the elected officials rose and took the hand for the majority, intoning the old Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" ("It is only a goodbye, in French ") To greet their British colleagues leaving the enclosure permanently.
"Commovente" - "moving" - dropped the Italian Sassoli at the microphone. Except for Nigel Farage, the lead British populist of the Brexiters, who snickered with his friends waving Union Jack pennants - the flag of the United Kingdom.
VIDEO. MEPs sing 'It's only goodbye' in the European Parliament
Whichever way it is taken, the departure of the nation which resisted the Nazi invasion, which invented the most complete parliamentary system - at a time when authoritarian democracies are flourishing in the EU - and weighs in the world and history, is a heartbreaker. Europe comes out weakened.
And now what is going to happen? "In the immediate future, not much will change, since the fact that the United Kingdom belongs to the European space, the submission to its laws, continues until December 31, 2020, explains Sylvain Kahn, professor at Sciences -po (Editor's note: last work published, "The Land of Europeans", co-written with Jacques Lévy, Ed Odile Jacob 2019) . The main change, for now, is the departure of elected officials and the British Commissioner to Brussels ”.
The message of firmness from EU bosses in a gallery at the Parisian - Today in France
As for the many English officials stationed in European bodies, where they occupy a number of strategic functions, their fate will be settled in the new treaty between London and the EU, which the French Michel Barnier is responsible for negotiating with Boris Johnson. Precisely, the whole question is to know what future relationships will look like. For now, the British Prime Minister, a fine poker player, has not cut his cards. A certainty, the British intend to obtain a lot without yielding, themselves, much.
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Hence the message of firmness addressed to the starters, in an exceptional forum given the historical issue, which our newspaper has the exclusivity for France (published in a major daily in 28 countries), the three bosses of Europe. Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, President of the Brussels Commission, Belgian Charles Michel, President of the European Council (the EU executive), and of the Parliament, David Sassoli: leave the club, they say in essence, necessarily has a cost and consequences.
Emmanuel Macron, one of the toughest European leaders on this subject, does not miss an opportunity to remind him. History, too, to dissuade future departures, not impossible with the rise of populists.
The point that annoys London
Concretely, the Europeans, who managed to remain united during the Brexit process despite sometimes divergent interests, insist that they will not let go of the four freedoms. “Free movement of people, goods, services and financial products: this has been the heart of European construction since the Treaty of Rome,” recalls Sylvain Kahn. The first point annoys London, which wants to control immigration, coming from the EU as elsewhere.
Will the 27 camp on their firm line? Not sure, notes the expert, recalling that the 47 years of marriage have been dotted with concessions to the British, from Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron, "so that they would be kind enough to stay". What did not prevent the divorce, acted this Friday evening.