- 9 ore fa
Brexit ha reso l'Europa più forte o più debole? Eurodeputati a confronto a The Ring
Cosa ha insegnato la Brexit all’Europa su sovranità, migrazioni, competitività, democrazia e disinformazione? Ha rafforzato l’idea di un’Unione più integrata? Gli eurodeputati discutono il futuro dei rapporti UE-Regno Unito in The Ring.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/06/26/brexit-ha-reso-leuropa-piu-forte-o-piu-debole-eurodeputati-a-confronto-a-the-ring
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
Cosa ha insegnato la Brexit all’Europa su sovranità, migrazioni, competitività, democrazia e disinformazione? Ha rafforzato l’idea di un’Unione più integrata? Gli eurodeputati discutono il futuro dei rapporti UE-Regno Unito in The Ring.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/06/26/brexit-ha-reso-leuropa-piu-forte-o-piu-debole-eurodeputati-a-confronto-a-the-ring
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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NovitàTrascrizione
00:08Grazie a tutti e benvenuti a The Ring, Euronese's weekly debate show,
00:13broadcasting from the European Parliament here in Brussels.
00:16I'm Maeve McMattin, and as you know, here on The Ring,
00:19members of the European Parliament go face to face
00:22on some of the most tricky issues of our time.
00:25This week, as we mark 10 years since the UK voted to leave the European Union,
00:30we're asking if the bloc has changed for the better or worse,
00:34and if the UK could ever, or should, rejoin.
00:37To set the scene, here's our Louise Albertus.
00:42A decade has passed since the UK made the momentous decision to leave the European Union.
00:48We'll save the crop of times.
00:53After 47 years of membership, the Brexit vote sent shockwaves through Europe
00:58and reshaped Britain as we know it.
01:01Ten years on, seven prime ministers have come and gone,
01:05and this week another one met the same fate.
01:08In an emotional speech at number 10,
01:11Keir Starmer stepped down after days of mounting pressure.
01:15What has Brexit taught Europe about sovereignty, migration,
01:19economic competitiveness, democratic accountability and disinformation?
01:24Has it strengthened the case for European integration?
01:27And with memories of the referendum still shaping the political debate,
01:31could Britain ever consider rejoining the bloc?
01:33Or is that possibility still too politically divisive?
01:40The questions we have for our contenders.
01:43Let's meet them.
01:45Barry Andrews, an Irish MEP from the Liberal Renew Europe Group.
01:49He's the chair of the Committee on Development,
01:52vice chair of the Delegation for Relations with Palestine
01:54and a member of the delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.
01:59On the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote, he says,
02:02Brexit was and is a con job.
02:05The UK has not been as invisible and irrelevant on the European stage as it is now,
02:10since, in my view, before the Battle of Agincourt of 1415.
02:16Sandor Smit, a Dutch MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
02:21He serves in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and has also been vice chair of the
02:26Committee on Fisheries earlier in the current parliamentary term.
02:29We still deeply regret Brexit and miss the UK's crucial voice for fiscal and financial discipline in the European Council,
02:37he says.
02:38Our future lies in a stronger partnership.
02:40Let the UK and EU countries move beyond the past and work together as natural sovereign allies.
02:50So, Barry Andrews and Sandor Smit, welcome to The Ring.
02:53Thanks for joining us.
02:54So, here we are, 10 years on.
02:57Has Brexit helped or hindered the European Union, Sandor?
03:00I think it has really hindered the European Union in achieving a union
03:03which also takes into account several national sensitivities, also protects the national veto.
03:09I think the United Kingdom would have been a very valuable ally for my own member state
03:15but also for other member states in Council and for my group in particular.
03:19Of course, the ECR Group was founded by the British Conservative Party and we still sorely miss them, I think.
03:25You would agree, I'm sure, Barry Andrews, with that.
03:27The EU is in a weaker place now.
03:29Well, I think definitely the UK is in a weaker place.
03:32I think the European Union has a capacity to evolve
03:34and I think there has been very significant developments in the European Union in the last 10 years and in
03:40the world.
03:41And the basic lesson is that we live in a much more contested world
03:45and we're much better together as an EU 27.
03:49So, I think that we are beginning to learn that lesson.
03:51But for the UK, it has been a total disaster.
03:53What other lessons has Brussels and the EU learned in the past 10 years?
03:57I think we should learn from Brexit, first and foremost,
04:02that we need to respect national sovereignty,
04:05maybe also have tailored membership,
04:08not doing away with the Copenhagen criteria but certain opt-outs
04:12and not have a one-size-fits-all approach.
04:15And I think not controlling migration,
04:19not taking into account these national specificities
04:22has really also caused Brexit.
04:24So, I think we need to self-reflect a bit.
04:27I think if you did self-reflect, you would recognise that actually Britain
04:30had a very tailor-made membership of the European Union for an awful long time,
04:35including being outside Schengen, including being outside the euro
04:38and having a very, very differentiated form of membership.
04:43And this still wasn't enough on this occasion.
04:45And what has happened since then in the UK
04:48is that there has been a massive peak in migration.
04:51The UK economy has gone down very, very substantially.
04:54As we've just heard in the introduction, they've had seven prime ministers.
04:57So, this is a state of governance which is absolutely disastrous.
05:00Oh, I absolutely agree.
05:01I just meant that if we as a European Union want to have the United Kingdom
05:06work together with us or eventually rejoin,
05:09I sense that you would be open to that, but you can comment on that later,
05:12we need to take into account these specificities.
05:16But now we see the European Commission and also European leaders
05:19evolving towards a more centralised approach of the Union
05:22with less tailor-made, less opt-outs, less possibilities to take these national issues.
05:27And we'll come back to that shortly, but I want to go back to the UK politics
05:30because, of course, seven prime ministers have come and gone since the Brexit vote.
05:34Is this because of Brexit, this political chaos we're seeing in the UK?
05:37Well, I mean, there's nobody looking to leave the European Union anymore.
05:41And there is a waiting room for membership that is bursting at the seams.
05:46So, the one big takeaway is that I think in the contested geopolitical world that we live in now,
05:52we're much better together.
05:53Mark Carney articulated that very well for middle-sized countries, for Europe, for Canada.
05:59So, I think Britain has learned that lesson in a very difficult way.
06:03Because we remember 10 years ago when the vote happened,
06:05Nigel Farage said the European Union was dead and, quote, finished.
06:09We saw Marine Le Pen, Gerd Filders calling for their countries to have a referendum.
06:13That's off the table now.
06:14It's all off the table and even Mr. Willis never mentions Brexit or Brexit anymore.
06:21Never mentioned it.
06:21So, I mean, you know, it's for slow learners.
06:25We now have had a laboratory example of what happens when you leave the European Union,
06:30when you try to take back control, when you try to do things by yourself.
06:34It is clear that this has deepened the European Union's roots.
06:37It has enhanced the European Union's reputation.
06:40And that's why almost all of our neighbourhood countries are thinking about joining,
06:44including Iceland, including Norway, including all the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.
06:49And what about the situation in the UK?
06:52The EU and the UK were just getting back on track with those relations.
06:56An EU summit was supposed to be taking place at the end of July.
06:59It's now off the table.
07:00So, what will the latest chaos mean for this relationship?
07:03Two things I would say to the Commission.
07:05First of all, it's right to delay the summit.
07:08Absolutely.
07:09I think the first point is that you have to anonymise relations with the UK.
07:13You can't, it can't depend on the personality of the Prime Minister,
07:17particularly where you have Farage quite high in the opinion polls.
07:21So, I think the European Commission has to recognise this.
07:24Plus, it cannot continue to treat the UK as an ordinary third country
07:28because the UK is so aligned with our key interests as Europe.
07:32And I think a lot of UK politicians recognise this.
07:35The Commission has to recognise that too.
07:37And during the very lengthy negotiation period, the divorce period, if you like,
07:41was the EU fair to the United Kingdom, do you think?
07:44I think in many aspects we were very fair.
07:47If I look at fisheries, we really took a huge portion out of our fishery rights, etc.
07:55So, I think the European Union has been right, but tough.
07:58I think maybe in some aspects too tough.
08:00So, that's also my suggestion.
08:02Let's work together closer.
08:04Let's move past the past bickering and find new solutions.
08:09Because I think that will also pave the way for new candidate member states like Iceland and Norway.
08:15And if we don't improve the relationship with the United Kingdom in the future,
08:20I think if we have a referendum in Iceland upcoming and show signs of that development,
08:25we will eventually end up also losing these candidate member states who do fulfil the Copenhagen criteria.
08:32But I just want to bring in an incident that took place in the European Parliament Chamber just last week
08:36in Strasbourg.
08:37When MEPs, when you were voting on measures to increase the deportation of undocumented migrants.
08:42Take a look.
08:47On the agenda, the report by Mrs. Brickmont on the EU-Pakistan agreement modification of concessions on tariff rate quotes.
08:59Vote on consent by roll call vote.
09:02The vote is open.
09:12We move to the...
09:17It's adopted.
09:21So a flavour there of what's going on inside the very European Parliament chamber.
09:25Chanderschmidt, what were you chanting?
09:27I was not chanting.
09:28Not, I don't think chanting belongs in a parliament.
09:31That way I did applaud the outcome of the result of the vote.
09:35And were you sitting beside the chanters?
09:36Yes, yes, they were to the left of me.
09:38So, in the right wing groups.
09:43This is a good glimpse of the kind of divisiveness that we can see right now in politics, right here
09:49and, of course, across the pond.
09:50Yeah, look, it was a disgrace.
09:52It was an appalling low point in my experience in the European Parliament.
09:57I voted against the measure.
09:58I have a very clear conscience about that.
10:01And what I was very disappointed about was that some members of your party online described one of our colleagues,
10:08who is originally from Iraq, that she should go home.
10:11Now, that should be withdrawn.
10:13That is the subject of a complaint.
10:15And I would put it to you that you should recognise that that was a mistake.
10:19Whatever about not chanting in the parliament, but encouraging one of our colleagues, who wasn't born in the European Union,
10:25to go home.
10:26Surely that's an unacceptable political approach.
10:29I wasn't there at the incidence that I can't vouch for how it was formulated by my colleague and how
10:36it was intended.
10:37But what we're seeing here...
10:39I think if we look at the outcome of the result, everyone who is an EU citizen who holds the
10:44right to be here can remain in the European Union.
10:46This is about the return of illegal migrants, illegal aliens who have penetrated the European Union without a right to
10:53asylum and to remain here.
10:55to return hubs under the full compliance with EU and international fundamental human rights.
11:02It's just interesting because Brexit, of course, was driven largely by migration concerns.
11:06And we're seeing that right now in the EU, the bloc taking much tougher policies when it comes to migration.
11:11Has Europe moved closer to the position that won that Brexit referendum, Barry Andrews?
11:15Yeah, my view is you can't beat the far right by becoming far right.
11:18That way they win and you lose.
11:20So I think it is it is a major mistake here.
11:24I think, you know, Sanders says there is human rights conditionality in relation to these return hubs.
11:31But let's not forget there are human rights clauses in the EU Israel Association Agreement,
11:36which have been willfully ignored by the Commission for three years in spite of the ongoing war crimes,
11:41in spite of the ongoing statements made by certain Israeli ministers in relation to European citizens,
11:49in relation to Palestine, to the West Bank.
11:50So I take no comfort from the presence in this agreement of human rights conditions in relation to return hubs.
11:56Quick reaction to that?
11:57I do. I think that we uphold the rule of law as European Union.
12:01And we will also do this in the return hub in safe third countries.
12:05And I think a lot of the Irish voters will also be disappointed that you voted against the result,
12:10which is the last building block of the EU migration and asylum pact.
12:14Yeah, some Irish voters will be disappointed that I voted against it.
12:21That is correct.
12:22But that's the essence of populism, that you're determined by, you know, whatever current...
12:27What I try to explain to our citizens is that, yes, we have a new migration and asylum pact.
12:32It only came into force two weeks ago.
12:34We also have migration conditionality in a lot of our external relations.
12:39We also have memorandums of understanding and returns.
12:41And my argument is that we should let all of this work before we go down what was a taboo
12:46subject just a few years ago
12:48about sending families and children to places they've never had any connection with
12:53to satisfy this demand in circumstances where asylum applications are going down in the European Union,
13:01where deportations are actually going up.
13:04This is the wrong time to do this.
13:05And we have done extensive reporting on that topic here on Euronews.
13:08And we've also done previous editions of The Ring, so catch up with them.
13:11But now it is time to move on to our next round.
13:18Now, you've already got a glimpse of what happens inside the European Parliament Chamber,
13:21but now I'm going to give you another one,
13:23because there MEPs also ask each other direct questions and follow-up.
13:27So here on The Ring, you'll also have that opportunity.
13:30So, Shander Schmidt, please address your very first question to Barry Andrews.
13:33Barry, the United Kingdom was our strongest ally for fiscal discipline,
13:37resisting EU debt schemes and protecting national sovereignty, also for Ireland.
13:42Do you still miss the British Prime Minister in the European Council to help us protect national vetoes?
13:48And would you actually welcome the EU back into the European Union?
13:52A couple of questions there, Sander.
13:54So, first of all, yes, of course, we'd welcome the UK back into the European Union.
13:59I think of all EU member states, Ireland was most aligned with the UK, actually,
14:03on a whole range of issues, particularly around trade, the provision of financial services,
14:07but most importantly, peace on the island of Ireland.
14:10And Ireland and the UK pulled very hard in the same direction on that,
14:14and the European Union acted as an honest broker and really helped us.
14:17So, for me, there's absolutely no question about that.
14:20In terms of veto power and the protection of veto power,
14:23I think that has held the European Union back,
14:25whereas other major global actors are able to act quickly.
14:28We take an inordinate amount of time,
14:30and we're being held hostage by single individuals in the European Council.
14:35And now your question.
14:36So, my question is how the ECR are making arrangements
14:43with far-right MEPs in the European Parliament,
14:47some of whom are pro-Putin.
14:49How do you explain that to your voters in the Netherlands
14:52that you are making these alliances with pro-Russian parties
14:55and pro-Russian actors in the European Parliament?
14:58I think it's not about making alliances with pro-Russian parties.
15:02We have a broad centre-right majority now,
15:04new majorities in the European Parliament,
15:06which vote along with us as an ECR,
15:08where we firmly support Ukraine.
15:10So, there's no doubt about that.
15:11And if they vote along us in supporting, for instance,
15:16the return regulation proposed by EPP Commissioner
15:19and by the Commission of Ms. von der Leyen,
15:21not by far-right populists,
15:23but by the European Commission, we safeguarded,
15:25we defended the proposal of Commissioner Brunner there,
15:29then there's no case of us collaborating with any such parties.
15:33but I do not uphold a firewall or a cordon sanitaire
15:37if people want to support my proposals.
15:40That would be political suicide.
15:41And I'm sure that certain of your own proposals and amendments
15:45have been voted in favour of also by far-right parties
15:48in committing committee votes.
15:50There's a difference between passive support
15:53and actively collaborating with these parties
15:56on amendments and issues like that.
15:58So, is your point is that you don't actively collaborate
16:01with the far-right, the pro-people?
16:03We've worked with all democratically elected representatives
16:06in this House,
16:07and if they want to support us on issues
16:09such as return regulation, combating illegal migration,
16:13then I fully support such cooperation.
16:16And there's no threat there or danger
16:19of legitimising their positions in certain other issues.
16:23There we have a very strong stance,
16:24and there we are also really aligned, I think, in many issues.
16:28Okay.
16:28Well, we've heard the views now from the MEPs,
16:30and you've had the opportunity to address your questions.
16:32Now it's time to hear from a new voice.
16:38I'd like to bring in the voice of Richard Corbett,
16:41former British Labour MEP,
16:43who became one of the leading political and academic voices
16:45in the debates over EU membership and reforming the bloc.
16:49He was actually in Brussels this month
16:50to mark the 10-year anniversary of Brexit
16:53and meet a group of British nationals
16:54who walked the whole way from London to the European capital.
16:58Take a look.
16:59Alexander Stodd, President of Finland,
17:01came all the way to London,
17:02and Chatham House lecture to say we want you back.
17:05Donald Tusk, Poland, says we dream of Britain coming back.
17:08Pedro Sanchez, Spain, says Brexit was a mistake.
17:11You should come back in.
17:12They do want us back.
17:14Why?
17:15Look at the geopolitics.
17:17Look at the geopolitics.
17:19Richard Corbett making the point there,
17:20making the pitch for coming back into the EU.
17:22Now, that was one of your questions, actually,
17:24for Barry Andrews earlier.
17:25Would you like to welcome them back?
17:26And is it necessary now,
17:27due to the geopolitical world we're living in?
17:29I think I would really welcome them back
17:32because we really miss them still,
17:33also in the European Parliament.
17:34The British Conservative Party is still sorely missed,
17:38I think, in my group as well.
17:40But I think it will be an evolution in the coming years.
17:43We have other parties, as Barry said,
17:45in the UK now contending.
17:47And I think we have to work towards rebuilding trust
17:50and confidence also by having a more pragmatic approach,
17:54not a dogmatic, not a bickering approach of the past,
17:57not to be too tough,
17:58but really open up to the United Kingdom.
18:01And the world is a much more dangerous place
18:02since 10 years ago.
18:03Now, we do know the EU and the UK
18:05have signed a defence and security partnership
18:07back in May 2025.
18:08But is this working out?
18:10Look, there's just not enough political energy
18:12behind this.
18:14Obviously, Keir Starmer has had his problems.
18:17The Commission has had a very full agenda.
18:20So the European Union-EUK agenda
18:22has been very strongly pushed by Mara Sefkiewicz.
18:25Let's be absolutely clear about this.
18:27But I am concerned about the slow progress
18:30on things like the ETS, electricity trading,
18:34SPS, you know, food and those relationships,
18:37which we should be able to improve
18:39much more quickly than is the case.
18:40And with the world in turmoil
18:41and the EU hoping to invest more in defence and security,
18:44especially with the US pulling out of NATO,
18:47there's a big gap in the budget now since Brexit.
18:49We've seen like between 10 and 12 billion euros less
18:52in the coffers because the UK left.
18:55What does that mean now for the EU's ambitions
18:57to invest in defence?
18:59I think the UK are major military power,
19:02also capable of investing,
19:04and we really miss them there.
19:06So as I said, we sorely miss them
19:08also in this dimension.
19:11And is there a solution for the EU
19:12to muster up the money itself,
19:14try and leverage the EU budget?
19:15That will mean that net payers,
19:17such as my own country, have to pay more.
19:19And I'm not really in favour of having the defence,
19:23which is primarily a national competence,
19:25transfer to the EU level.
19:27Because really that development in the past
19:30also led to Brexit.
19:32And also in my own member states,
19:33if the net contribution of my own member state
19:35were to increase,
19:37I think that would decrease also support
19:39for the European Union,
19:40which has increased in the recent years.
19:42So I think we should leave it there
19:44and find pragmatic solutions there.
19:46OK, I want to dive deeper into that topic.
19:48But first, let's take a break here on The Ring.
19:50Stay with us, though, here on Euronews.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring,
20:02Euronews' weekly debate show.
20:04I'm Maeve McMahan,
20:05and I'm joined by Sander Schmitt,
20:07Dutch MEP from the European Conservatives and Reformists,
20:10and Barry Andrews, Irish MEP from Renew Europe.
20:13And today we're talking about how the EU is doing
20:1610 years after the Brexit referendum,
20:18and if the country of 69 million people
20:21could ever rejoin again.
20:22To get the view from Europeans
20:24on whether they should one day rejoin,
20:26we consulted some data
20:27from the European Council on Foreign Relations
20:30that says 66% of European respondents
20:33quote,
20:34strongly support or tend to support UK membership.
20:37Support varies significantly from us.
20:4056% in Bulgaria and 59% in France
20:43and Italy to 75% in the Netherlands and Denmark.
20:47and backers of far-right
20:48and Eurosceptic parties
20:49favour stronger UK-EU ties,
20:52including supporters of Germany's AFD
20:54and France's national rally.
20:57So interesting data there,
20:58and many sharing your view
21:00that they do indeed miss the Brits
21:01and they'd love to invite them back.
21:03Your reaction?
21:04Yeah, well, actually,
21:04the figures are very similar
21:05to the polling figures in the UK.
21:07So whereas it was 52% to leave,
21:11now the figures are the other way.
21:12There's most UK people
21:14consider that Brexit was a mistake,
21:16they consider that rejoining
21:18is the correct way.
21:19So really,
21:20there's hugely fertile political ground
21:22available to whichever politician
21:24has the courage
21:25to articulate return to the European Union
21:27and to put that to the people.
21:29And I think that the European Union
21:30should respond to that
21:32and provide a pathway
21:32to such a politician
21:33if they do have that courage.
21:35And how should that path look?
21:36Are we talking about
21:36the red carpet being rolled out
21:38or are we talking about
21:39stricter membership,
21:40no more opt-outs?
21:42I think we need opt-outs as well
21:43because we'll never get them back
21:45if we're too dogmatic,
21:47too strict there.
21:48So I think we ought to offer them
21:50the old package.
21:51So you almost want to go
21:52begging them.
21:52The old package,
21:54I think.
21:54That would be,
21:55then that's also
21:56what British voters
21:58and British citizens
21:59who were polled remember.
22:00So if we come up
22:01with other extra regulations,
22:03we need more pragmatism.
22:04That's a very interesting view.
22:06Do you think other Europeans
22:07and European leaders
22:08would be on board with this?
22:09No, they wouldn't
22:10because clearly,
22:12we do have differentiated accession.
22:14So Ukraine may come in
22:16in the next few years,
22:17but I anticipate
22:18that it will be
22:19on different terms
22:20to the Western Balkans,
22:22for example.
22:22And I think the UK
22:23as a former member
22:25should be treated
22:26in a differentiated manner.
22:27But I don't see
22:28the European Council
22:29supporting the idea
22:30of going back
22:30to the original package
22:32of rebate
22:33outside Schengen,
22:35outside the Euro.
22:36I think some of those issues
22:37will have to be spoken about.
22:39So while the UK
22:41are saying
22:41they want to return
22:42to the European Union,
22:44the majority,
22:45when you put
22:45the actual package,
22:46it might be
22:47a different story.
22:47So that debate
22:48has to happen
22:49in the UK initially
22:50before we have
22:51any discussions.
22:52And 10 years on
22:53from now,
22:53how do you visualise
22:54the European Union?
22:55Will it be enlarged?
22:57It will,
22:57in my ideal vision,
22:59will be slightly
23:01maybe enlarged,
23:02but enlargement
23:02is not a goal
23:03in itself.
23:04I'd like to have
23:05the United Kingdom back
23:06and I think Norway
23:07and Iceland
23:07are perfect examples
23:09within the European
23:09economic area already
23:11to join the European Union.
23:13But if European leaders
23:14are too tough
23:15and we don't have
23:16this pragmatism
23:17towards the United Kingdom
23:18now in the upcoming months,
23:20this might only
23:21also slow down
23:22or close off
23:23the same development
23:24in Iceland
23:25and Norway.
23:25and I think
23:26you'll closely follow it.
23:28Yeah, I agree.
23:28I think if we have
23:29a positive discussion
23:31about the UK,
23:32I think the reputation
23:33of the European Union
23:34would be very,
23:35very profoundly enhanced
23:36by seeing the UK
23:37recognise that it was
23:38a mistake to leave
23:39and to begin
23:40the process
23:41of applying to rejoin.
23:42And just a final point
23:43on EU enlargement,
23:44could the EU function
23:45as 30 or 35
23:47with this current veto system?
23:49Well, look,
23:49back in 2004
23:51when we had
23:51the biggest accession
23:53when all of the countries
23:54of Central and Eastern Europe
23:55joined,
23:56the argument was
23:57the European Union
23:58is not going to be able
23:59to function
23:59without really expanding
24:01QMV
24:02and withdrawing veto power.
24:04In fact,
24:05Ireland and other
24:05smaller member states
24:06insisted on keeping
24:07veto power
24:08and making sure
24:09that we limited QMV
24:10and the roof
24:12hasn't fallen in.
24:13In fact,
24:14the European Union
24:14does continue
24:15to operate quite well.
24:16Having said that,
24:17from a foreign policy
24:18point of view,
24:19I believe that there are areas
24:20where there should be
24:21an expanded QMV.
24:23Is that pragmatic?
24:24No, as Barry said,
24:25I think the European Union
24:26should continue
24:27as it is,
24:28as the treaty is now
24:29with the vetoes.
24:30The number of vetoes
24:32and policies
24:33has already been limited
24:34in the past
24:35before the Treaty of Lisbon
24:36as well.
24:37And I think we now
24:38have to safeguard
24:39this unanimity principle,
24:41especially if we want
24:42the EU-K-back,
24:43if we want Iceland
24:44and smaller member states
24:45like Norway,
24:47potential member states
24:48to join.
24:49And it will really scare
24:50of these potential
24:52or real candidates
24:54if we abolish
24:55the national veto.
24:57And for my own
24:57member states,
24:58it's also been
24:58very important,
24:59not only for Ireland,
25:00but for other smaller
25:01member states
25:01to uphold the veto.
25:03OK, well,
25:04it is now time
25:04to move on
25:05to our fifth
25:05and final round.
25:11And like always,
25:12to close,
25:12we do something
25:13a little bit different.
25:14I'm going to ask
25:15our MEPs
25:16a set of questions
25:16and you can only
25:17answer with yes
25:19or no.
25:19Is that doable?
25:21Maybe.
25:23Is the European Union
25:24to blame for the
25:24Brexit vote,
25:25yes or no?
25:26Yes.
25:26No.
25:27Is Nigel Farage
25:29perhaps to blame
25:29for the Brexit vote,
25:30yes or no?
25:31Yes, yes and yes.
25:34Is Nigel Farage
25:35to blame for the
25:35Brexit vote,
25:36yes or no?
25:36Yes, yes.
25:37Was Brexit a wake-up call
25:39for the European Union,
25:40Sander?
25:40Yes.
25:41Yes, I think that's fair.
25:42I think, yeah,
25:43I think it's forced
25:44the European Union
25:45to reflect in a way
25:46that it hasn't done
25:46for a long time.
25:47And is the European Union
25:49more democratic now
25:50today than it was
25:5110 years ago,
25:52yes or no?
25:53There has been
25:54no treaty change,
25:55so no,
25:55it hasn't changed.
25:57No.
25:57Did disinformation
25:58decide the referendum
25:59in the UK,
26:00yes or no?
26:02Yes, I think.
26:03Yes, Cambridge Analytica,
26:05Russian money,
26:05massive disinformation.
26:07And will the European Union
26:08ever speak with one voice?
26:09Yes.
26:12Yes.
26:14And is Ursula von der Leyen
26:16a good leader,
26:17yes or no?
26:18No, I don't think so.
26:20Yes or no?
26:21Sometimes she's good
26:22on Israel,
26:23she's been a disaster.
26:24Is the EU doing enough
26:26to stay competitive
26:27against the US and China,
26:28Sander?
26:29No, absolutely not.
26:30We need more deregulation.
26:32No.
26:33And has the European Union
26:33become too dependent
26:34on regulation?
26:36Yes or no?
26:37Yes.
26:39Yes.
26:39That is the big debate,
26:40of course,
26:41of Brussels today.
26:42Should national vetoes
26:43in foreign policy
26:44be abolished?
26:45I know your answer.
26:46No.
26:47In some instances,
26:49yes.
26:49Good to have allies
26:50in renew as well.
26:51Has the EU green deal
26:53strengthened
26:54the European economy?
26:55Yes.
26:56I don't think so.
26:57Not overall.
26:59And will we see
27:00another Brexit
27:00in the next 10 years?
27:01No way.
27:03No.
27:04And one final question,
27:05is the future
27:05of the European Union
27:06bright,
27:07yes or no?
27:07Yes.
27:11Come on, Sander.
27:12You know the right answer.
27:14Yes,
27:14if we uphold
27:15the national veto
27:16and respect
27:17this national sovereignty
27:18as well.
27:19And on that conclusion,
27:20we can bring this edition
27:20of The Ring
27:21to an end.
27:22We'd love to hear as well
27:23from you,
27:24the ring
27:24at yournews.com.
27:25That is our email address,
27:27Barry Andrews
27:27and Chandra Smith.
27:28Thank you so much
27:28for being our guests.
27:29Thank you so much
27:30for watching.
27:31Take care
27:31and see you soon.
27:35We'll see you soon.