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Added on the 16/11/2022 12:03:06 - Copyright : Euronews EN
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, congratulates Croatia on joining Europe's border check-free Schengen area but expresses disappointment after accession bids by Bulgaria and Romania were blocked in an EU ministers' meeting."You deserve to be full members of Schengen, you deserve to have access to the free movement in the Schengen area," she says. SOUNDBITE
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says her executive will "by the end of next week" finalise its opinion on whether Ukraine should be a candidate country to join the EU. "The discussions today will enable us to finalise our assessment by the end of next week," she tells Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv during a surprise visit. SOUNDBITE
President of the European Council Donald Tusk declared that the UK will not be allowed to access the EU single market without accepting the freedom of movement of citizens, during a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday. "There will be no single market a la carte," he stressed. The announcement comes after all the EU leaders met for the first time since the British referendum result last Friday.
French President Francois Hollande said the UK must accept several preconditions if it is to access the single market following any exit from the European Union, during a press conference held in Brussels on Wednesday. Hollande also suggested the UK would have to pay direct costs to the EU, similar to Norway, in order to access the single market. The French president also ruled out any "prenegotiation" period, urging the new UK Conservative government to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible.
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker met with First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon in Brussels on Wednesday, as the European Council emergency meeting on the 'Brexit' issue takes place in the Belgian capital. Relations between Scotland and the EU, the 'Brexit' result, as well as the possibility of a second referendum on Scotland’s independence from the UK were expected to top the agenda of the meeting.
Bernard Cazeneuve, French Interior Minister, said on Wednesday in Paris that a British exit from the European Union will not affect the situation with refugees, stranded in Calais, who are trying to reach the UK.