Mrs May’s excellent speech made clear the hopes and expectations of many of us, as European friends and admirers of the United Kingdom, and as supporters of Brexit.
Now, after getting out of a building on fire, the UK can finally do what is perfectly in the interest of the British people: make Britain a global superhub, capable of attracting resources and investments, of cutting taxes and red tape, and of securing the best deals with any possible partner on the global scene.
So now, it’s up to the EU to learn its lesson, to understand that British voters made the best choice for them, and to come to terms with reality.
Here in the EU, the only unrealistic attitude is thinking (as some do, and unfortunately not only in Brussels) that continuing with the same doctors and with the same treatments which have already sickened the patient might work (for some mysterious reason) in the future. Now, Brexit is offering us a huge and blessed opportunity to show that the emperor has no clothes.
First of all, the EU authorities should show full respect and friendly cooperation with the British government, especially after Mrs May’s rousing speech.
As for fixing the EU situation itself, we need a network of countries and political movements (the ECR group and the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe – as a family of parties and movements – can lead that process) to unite those who, across Europe, oppose the EU status quo. To make an example, we can push for three main aspect in a European renegotiation process, to cater for the remaining EU members:
1. Advocate for a multi-speed/multi-tiered European Union, within which members can join in or abstain from programmes that suit or don’t suit them.
2. Prevent a euro-area Finance Secretary, with the mission of “harmonising” euro countries (that is to say building the “final cage”). On the contrary, we need fiscal competition between states and territories.
3. Pass a sort of sovereignty bill in as many European countries as possible, stating that EU rules may prevail, unless they are overturned by national Parliaments (or repealed by Constitutional Courts, as it happens in Germany). The best thing would be that national Parliaments should be given a general opt-out option on what comes from Brussels.
The EU must not be a cage. It should be a means by which we can achieve our purposes of democracy, free-market trade, and full respect for citizens and taxpayers.
Daniele Capezzone (Rome, 1972) is a Member of the Italian Parliament, for the center-right movement Conservatives and Reformists.
