The European Union must stop being nit-picky and intrusive, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Sunday as the bloc scrambled to handle the aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave.
The Brexit vote to leave the EU has deepened fears among mainstream politicians across Europe about the rise of eurosceptic, anti-establishment parties, particularly in France, where the far-right National Front is increasingly popular.
That concern has also prompted mainstream French politicians on the left and right to call for an overhaul of Europe.
We must put an end to this sad and finicky Europe. Too often it is intrusive on details and desperately absent on what’s essential. We must break away from the dogma of ever more Europe. Europe must act not by principle but when it is useful and pertinent.Manuel Valls, French Prime Minister
In his speech on Sunday in Normandy, Valls insisted Europe “is not about seeing sovereign states disappear.”
Former French President Responds to Brexit
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy echoed those sentiments. “Europe cannot continue to build itself against the people,” he said.
“Do you think that 30 kilometres of Channel between us mean we’d think that differently?” Sarkozy told France 2.
However Sarkozy, who had so far rejected the idea of an EU referendum in France, added his voice to a growing chorus of politicians of all political stripes saying a referendum on a new treaty or EU project could be a good idea.
(With agency inputs.)
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