Statement by Schulz president EU

[louisagradgrind]

He has said, according to BBC news that there will be 'Consequences' for GB so that other European countries will not follow example

What an organisation! Bullying, threatening. Big Brother. Dreadful megalomaniacs.

[HeadDreamer]

Surely it's like the leaving employee trying to ask to still get full pay indefinitely and the employer saying "No, if I let you still have full pay everyone will want to leave and still get full pay".

This. Not many of us expect to still be able to use company car, computer, health club, and claim expenses for entertainment, when we are a leaving disgruntled employee. You have to remember we aren't leaving in very friendly circumstances.

[HellsBellsnBucketsofBlood]

They were clear about their position beforehand. They are still clear. There will be consequences. Each of the 27 have their own populations and democracies to consider - and NEWS FLASH they are not going to act in our best interests. We're not the most important people on the planet, and to them we just became pretty unimportant.

[GooseRocks]

plus - employee expecting to dictate as long a notice period as they want....

[usuallydormant]

You do know that you've also fucked the rest of us in Europe with this vote?

We too have to put up with a stock market gone crazy and unknown consequences, not to mention putting a big smile on the likes of Marine Le Pen. Now the UK leaders are dithering and faffing about when things are going to start moving (who the hell is in charge at the moment anyway?). Frankly, there is a huge air of incompetence coming from Westminster which is pretty alarming.

The UK has stuck its fingers up to the rest of Europe. Fine, your choice but you can't expect the rest of the EU to sit around twiddling our thumbs while the Tories try to figure out who is going to have the really shit job of trying to sort out a legal mess and take the blame for the outcomes. Why should the EU bend over for the UK? Yes, there are consequences, which were clearly spelled out before the referendum but people chose to say this was bullying.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Quite right usually, any childish whining at this stage is just petulant. And a bit sad.

[AnguaResurgam]

When the formal process of leaving is activated is entirely up to the UK.

EU can state its preference all it likes, but it's not up to them.

And yes, FTSE is up over the whole of this week, DAX and CAC down

[chantico]

"any childish whining at this stage is just petulant. And a bit sad."

That's exactly how Juncker and Shultz are coming across to me.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Well you can't say they didn't give fair warning. So no point complaining really is there?

[Pooka]

What do you expect. Tell me what you expected to happen. They'd send flowers and tell us they miss us, that we are the best thing that ever happened.

Jesus wept.

[chantico]

I expect them to deal with the new reality in a pragmatic way, looking for solutions that work for all parties.

Not witter on about Consequences.

[HellsBellsnBucketsofBlood]

who the hell is in charge at the moment anyway?

Not entirely sure right now. Sorry.

looking for solutions that work for all parties

Why? They only need solutions that work for them. If they also benefit us, that's good for us, but their focus will be on what they need/want.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

chantico they're doing what they said they'd do. They couldn't have been any more transparent.

[Lunde]

"looking for solutions"

What sort of solutions? Surely the issue is decided and the UK needs to formally initiate Brexit. Seems very strange that despite campaigning for Brexit that the various leave campaigns seem to have had no actual plan for what would come next. Even more strange Boris, Gove and Farage et al seem to be backtracking from a rapid Brexit

[chantico]

'Why?'

Because the best way to get thing to work well for you is to have it working well for everyone. That's basic stuff for negotiations. Identify what's in it for you, what's in it for them, and find the right solution. Because everyone is better off under good win/win arrangements. Because future stability under new circumstances matter and the sooner it's reached the better. Because this is far too damned important for egoism.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Yes, why are you expecting them to provide solutions to a situation of your own making?

[louisagradgrind]

No, Pooka. I expected lots of brickbats and rattles come flying out of the pram towards our direction-no problem, they're angry to have been disobeyed: hardly a surprise!

But I didn't expect them to threaten other nations by letting them know that they too will have brickbats and rattles thrown at them, although I am very pleased that they have had their tongues pulled and said something that doesn't show them in a good light.

I think they sound idiotic and churlish to snarl at other nations because they too might want the chance to vote. However, as I say, I'm glad though that they have been so foolish to actually say it, as it might just have the effect of making nations stick a finger up to them.

No-one likes to be threatened, as the Remain campaign have found out. Maybe they can send Mr Shultz the memo, outlining their failure and giving him the heads up! He might wind his neck in but I sincerely hope he doesn't!

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Because this is far too damned important for egoism.

Damn. If only someone had given Boris Johnson that memo.

[chantico]

"they're doing what they said they'd do"

What? Make vague threats of consequences?

That they are set to start the separation procedure, fine and expected. That they wrap it up in that sort of unpleasant rhetoric, not fine.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Well you can object to their tone and their rhetoric but it would be a bit of a pointless exercise. They're the big boys now.

[alltouchedout]

They're not threats. They are facts. Just because you don't want to hear them doesn't mean it's bullying to be told them. What on earth did you think would happen?

[Fitzers]

The U.K. has, for years, taken an uncooperative approach to work at EU level. It has won itself few supporters with its 'one foot out the door' attitude. It should be no surprise that the EU won't bend over backwards to accommodate the UK. It needs to stop any contagion, give certainty back to the markets and to be frank just deal with the situation and not drag it out. There seemed to be some view that the UK could dictate terms or seek to maintain the benefits of membership while waving goodbye. Are people really so naive? Do some people in the UK really think the country is that important that the EU as a whole would aquiesce to whatever terms the UK wanted to set?

[sandrabedminster]

A club that threatens to deck you when you leave is not a club to belong to.

[HellsBellsnBucketsofBlood]

"Identify what's in it for you, what's in it for them, and find the right solution".

You forgot:

• look at how much they really need you to agree (i.e. what is the worst case scenario that England will be trying to avoid)
  
• consider how much you actually need them (what do the remaining EU states need to avoid including contagion)
  
• decide on your red lines (what will your own electorate accept versus what you need to avoid)
  
• work out, based on all of the above, how much you can get out of the UK and still have a solution that works enough to be stable.
  

We won't be getting anything for free in all this. We will have to apply pressure for, negotiate or 'buy' everything we seek. They are now the contract counter-parties who sit on the other side of the table to us, and their idea of the right solution does not have to marry up with ours. There's a massive range of possible outcomes, all of which could be perfectly stable, and they aren't all sunshine and roses.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

Do some people in the UK really think the country is that important that the EU as a whole would aquiesce to whatever terms the UK wanted to set?

Yes. It would appear so.

Deluded.

[SonicSpotlight]

You wanted out. You're out. What's the problem?