AFP, Tapa (Estonia) :
Britain is “unconditionally committed” to European security despite Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May told British troops stationed with NATO in Estonia on Friday, as EU leaders met to discuss the future of the bloc.
Visiting troops with French President Emmanuel Macron, May reiterated Britain’s position that security cooperation is not up for debate in London’s tense divorce negotiations with the European Union as she seeks to improve the mood and unlock the next stage of talks.
She and Macron visited NATO forces posted just 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Russian border as part of a mission to reassure Baltic states the alliance will protect them from any Kremlin aggression. “While we are leaving the EU, as I have said many times, we are not leaving Europe,” May told forces at the Tapa base in northern Estonia.
“The UK is unconditionally committed to maintaining European security and we will continue to offer aid and assistance to EU member states which are the victims of armed aggression, terrorism and natural or man-made disasters.”
NATO has deployed four battle groups-around 4,000 troops-to Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in recent years in response to growing Russian assertiveness in the region, particularly after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
The alliance has had around 800 British and 300 French soldiers posted at the Tapa base since the spring.
Macron told French troops their presence was proof that NATO was committed to protecting its members in the face of a mounting threat from Russia.
The two leaders were in Estonia for a summit of EU leaders in Tallinn where the future of the bloc without Britain was set to be the key topic on the agenda.
TAPA, Estonia (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the European Union on Friday to respond in kind to proposals she set out in Italy last week that sought to unlock Brexit talks, saying forming a new partnership was in the bloc’s interest as well.
Speaking to Reuters in Estonia after meeting British troops, May said she believed the speech in Florence a week ago had given new momentum to the troubled divorce negotiations and had seen signs to suggest it had broken the deadlock. But she did not say whether she thought it was enough to move the talks on to a discussion of the future relationship by an October summit after EU negotiators said again this week that not enough progress had been made.
“A week ago I gave a speech in Florence which set out how we have made good progress so far, I thought we could make further progress and moving on to looking at the future deep and special relationship and partnership that we want to build with the European Union when the UK has left the EU,” she said.
“I made that speech to give momentum to the talks and I think we have seen that being shown in the talks that have taken place this week and further progress has been made.”
Following the latest round of talks this week, the EU’s top negotiator said May’s speech had created a “new dynamic”, but more progress was needed to move to the next phase of discussions.
May, weakened by a June election when she lost her Conservative Party’s majority, hopes to use the informal summit in Estonia to talk to EU leaders about Brexit, and to underline Britain’s role in European security to try to win goodwill.
Britain is “unconditionally committed” to European security despite Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May told British troops stationed with NATO in Estonia on Friday, as EU leaders met to discuss the future of the bloc.
Visiting troops with French President Emmanuel Macron, May reiterated Britain’s position that security cooperation is not up for debate in London’s tense divorce negotiations with the European Union as she seeks to improve the mood and unlock the next stage of talks.
She and Macron visited NATO forces posted just 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the Russian border as part of a mission to reassure Baltic states the alliance will protect them from any Kremlin aggression. “While we are leaving the EU, as I have said many times, we are not leaving Europe,” May told forces at the Tapa base in northern Estonia.
“The UK is unconditionally committed to maintaining European security and we will continue to offer aid and assistance to EU member states which are the victims of armed aggression, terrorism and natural or man-made disasters.”
NATO has deployed four battle groups-around 4,000 troops-to Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in recent years in response to growing Russian assertiveness in the region, particularly after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
The alliance has had around 800 British and 300 French soldiers posted at the Tapa base since the spring.
Macron told French troops their presence was proof that NATO was committed to protecting its members in the face of a mounting threat from Russia.
The two leaders were in Estonia for a summit of EU leaders in Tallinn where the future of the bloc without Britain was set to be the key topic on the agenda.
TAPA, Estonia (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May urged the European Union on Friday to respond in kind to proposals she set out in Italy last week that sought to unlock Brexit talks, saying forming a new partnership was in the bloc’s interest as well.
Speaking to Reuters in Estonia after meeting British troops, May said she believed the speech in Florence a week ago had given new momentum to the troubled divorce negotiations and had seen signs to suggest it had broken the deadlock. But she did not say whether she thought it was enough to move the talks on to a discussion of the future relationship by an October summit after EU negotiators said again this week that not enough progress had been made.
“A week ago I gave a speech in Florence which set out how we have made good progress so far, I thought we could make further progress and moving on to looking at the future deep and special relationship and partnership that we want to build with the European Union when the UK has left the EU,” she said.
“I made that speech to give momentum to the talks and I think we have seen that being shown in the talks that have taken place this week and further progress has been made.”
Following the latest round of talks this week, the EU’s top negotiator said May’s speech had created a “new dynamic”, but more progress was needed to move to the next phase of discussions.
May, weakened by a June election when she lost her Conservative Party’s majority, hopes to use the informal summit in Estonia to talk to EU leaders about Brexit, and to underline Britain’s role in European security to try to win goodwill.
