Theresa May, in Munich, Calls for Swift Security Pact and Offers Concession
- 6 years ago
Theresa May, in Munich, Calls for Swift Security Pact and Offers Concession
If a security deal was not reached in a timely manner, Mrs. May said in what some perceived as a thinly
veiled threat, citizens of both Europe and Britain would be less safe than they are today.
Addressing a security conference here in Munich, the prime minister said Britain had an "unconditional" commitment to European security
that would not change after the country’s departure from the bloc.
On Saturday, just a little more than a year before the process known as Brexit concludes, Mrs. May put her strongest card on the table — Britain’s defense
and police capabilities — and urged European partners to agree to a new security treaty.
The chairman of the conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, said
that given all the complications, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was "extremely regrettable." "Everything would be so much easier if you stayed," he said in the room.
Mrs. May said she wanted the security pact signed fast, even before negotiators agreed on the Brexit deal.
Florence Gaub, deputy director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, or E.U.I.S.S., a research group, said that Mrs. May had a point.
If a security deal was not reached in a timely manner, Mrs. May said in what some perceived as a thinly
veiled threat, citizens of both Europe and Britain would be less safe than they are today.
Addressing a security conference here in Munich, the prime minister said Britain had an "unconditional" commitment to European security
that would not change after the country’s departure from the bloc.
On Saturday, just a little more than a year before the process known as Brexit concludes, Mrs. May put her strongest card on the table — Britain’s defense
and police capabilities — and urged European partners to agree to a new security treaty.
The chairman of the conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, said
that given all the complications, Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was "extremely regrettable." "Everything would be so much easier if you stayed," he said in the room.
Mrs. May said she wanted the security pact signed fast, even before negotiators agreed on the Brexit deal.
Florence Gaub, deputy director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, or E.U.I.S.S., a research group, said that Mrs. May had a point.