Tusk: Brexit a 'vaccine' against Euroskepticism
Brexit acted as a "vaccine" against Euroskepticism, and "Europe is the winner in these elections," said European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday in a press conference following the just-concluded leaders' informal meeting.
"I have no doubt that one of the reasons that people on the Continent voted for a pro-European majority is also Brexit ... As Europeans see what Brexit means in practice, they also draw conclusions. Brexit has been a vaccine against anti-EU propaganda and fake news," he added.
"Some major Euroskeptic parties had abandoned anti-EU slogans and 'presented themselves as EU reformers,'" said Tusk, hailing those changes as "positive."
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (R) listens to European Council President Donald Tusk during a special meeting of the European Council to endorse the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement and to approve the draft political declaration on future EU-UK relations in Brussels, November 25, 2018. /VCG Photo
"We are all aware of the state of things in London – nothing promising I should say," he noted, saying that during the leaders' dinner "no one even tried to discuss" Brexit.
Juncker: EU will not renegotiate Brexit withdrawal deal
For his part, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday that the European Union was not willing to renegotiate the withdrawal deal struck with the British government, but rejected three times by Britain's parliament.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (C) rings a bell to open the Weekly College meeting at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, April 3, 2019. /VCG Photo
"I will have a short meeting with Theresa May, but I was crystal clear. There will be no renegotiation," Juncker said before a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.
Britain's Theresa May announced she would resign on June 7 as leader of the Conservative Party, and as the prime minister who has been tasked with Brexit from the very first. May's resignation had been anticipated but was still a dramatic moment in British politics.
Corbyn set to back 2nd Brexit referendum
Meanwhile, Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is set to back a second referendum on Brexit and it could be within days, the Mirror newspaper reported late on Tuesday, citing senior figures of the party.
Corbyn, who has so far said the option of a second referendum should be kept on the table, is under pressure to endorse one without qualification. The prospect poses a dilemma as many of the party's supporters backed Brexit.
Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves after voting in the European Elections in London, UK, May 23, 2019. /VCG Photo
After being punished by voters in the European elections, which saw both pro-Brexit and pro-European Union parties surge at the expense of Labour and the governing Conservatives, Labour said a public vote was the way to reunite the country, but added this could also be a national election.
Corbyn himself on Monday had said that the British public should be asked again to give its verdict on Brexit, either through a general election or a second referendum.
"With the Conservatives disintegrating and unable to govern, and parliament deadlocked, this issue will have to go back to the people, whether through a general election or a public vote," Corbyn had said, adding the party would have discussions on the way forward.
(Cover: European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (not pictured) hold a joint news conference during a European Union (EU) leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 21, 2019. /VCG Photo)
(With input from Reuters, Xinhua)