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[...] In terms of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU, the negotiations of which are set to kick off in March, Tajani said that it is important to “defend the rights of European citizens and be serious” with Westminster, because, economically speaking, “being a member of the EU cannot be the same as not being a member”.
“But, at the same time, it is important to work with London in order to plan our next stage of cooperation after Brexit, because the UK will not be an enemy of the EU. It will be a partner. The UK will always be a European country; however, not an EU country.”
Greece’s financial situation has once again run into serious difficulty and when asked what the best response should be, Tajani insisted that now is the time to support Athens.
“We will talk about Greece in Strasbourg this week. The Parliament will discuss the problem and its different positions, but I think that Greece is an important country and it is important to defend Greece as it is a member of the Eurogroup and the European Union.”
He added that “Greece is a part of the Union’s history. There is no Europe without Greece.” [...]