Donald Tusk is the serving President of the Council of Europe which was established in 1974 and gained formal status as a European Institution as recently as 2009. Its function is to bring together the heads of state of the EU’s 28 nations, the high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the President of the EC. The Council decides on direction and political priorities of the EU, handles complex and sensitive issues that can only be handled at the state level, determines EU common security and foreign policy and appoints candidates to senior EU roles such as EC president and ECB head.
Speaking to a meeting of policymakers in Brussels on Thursday, Mr Tusk poured iced-water on the nonsensical utterings of Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, that the UK could “have its cake and eat it” in reference to a post-Brexit relationship with the EU. Mr Tusk was reiterating the consistent line that has come from European capitals and EU bodies since the result of the referendum in the UK was announced that the UK will not be allowed to “cherry-pick” the parts of its relationship with the EU whilst rejecting obligations that it didn’t. Speaking bluntly, Mr Tusk noted: “That was pure illusion, that one can have the EU cake and eat it too. To all who believe in it, I propose a simple experiment. Buy a cake, eat it, and see if it is still there on the plate.”
He spelled out that: “The only real alternative to a hard Brexit is no Brexit, even if today hardly anyone believes in such a possibility.”
Earlier on Thursday, Johnson told the foreign affairs select committee: “We are going to get a deal which is of huge value and possibly of greater value… We are going to get the best possible deal for trade in goods and services.” Mr Johnson is long on rhetoric and short on detail.
The exchanges come on the back of comments made by UK PM Theresa May confirming a date by which she intends to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon which would start the UK’s exit process from the EU and comments to the Tory conference widely seen to signal her preference for “hard Brexit”. As a result, the Pound fell to its lowest ever point against a basket of trade-weighted currencies and fresh 31 year lows against the Dollar. It slipped from $1.29 prior to the announcement to stand at about $1.22 currently. This makes UK exports more attractive, but hurts the balance of trade, as the UK imports more than it exports, and it will push UK inflation up.