UK will not abandon EU friends, says Boris Johnson

Mayor of London Boris Johnson addresses the Global Investment Conference in London on May 9, 2013. AFP PHOTO / POOL / STEFAN ROUSSEAU (Photo credit should read STEFAN ROUSSEAU/AFP/Getty Images)

The UK's exit from the EU does not mean it will be leaving Europe or "abandoning" its friends, the new foreign secretary has said in Brussels.

Making his debut on the international stage, Boris Johnson said the EU needed a "co-ordinated response" to terrorism in the light of the recent Nice attack.

He also said he wanted to "see restraint and moderation on all sides" in Turkey following the attempted coup.

Mr Johnson is meeting fellow EU foreign ministers for talks.

Foreign ministers will discuss the Nice attack and the abortive coup in Turkey, but have stressed there will be no formal discussions about Britain's EU exit.

Mr Johnson's journey to the talks — which will also be attended by US secretary of state John Kerry — was delayed after his plane had to make an emergency landing.

It meant the newly-appointed cabinet member was late for an informal dinner with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Sunday evening.

Analysis

For Boris Johnson the classicist, the omens for his first international meeting — at the heart of the EU in Brussels — were not auspicious.

His RAF plane had to make an emergency landing on his way there.

Heading to a working breakfast with his 27 fellow foreign ministers early this morning, the new foreign secretary didn't duck the inevitability, as he sees it, of Britain leaving the European Union.

But he also took care to stress his central message — that Brexit is not the same as Britain leaving Europe.

For many of his EU counterparts, it does feel the same, however.

And it is awkward for the man who led the Leave campaign to victory that today's gathering marked another symbolic first: the participation by an American secretary of state in an EU foreign ministers' council.

John Kerry, in his remarks, has been treading a fine line between Washington's enthusiastic support for European integration — demonstrated by his ground-breaking attendance — and the need felt by him and President Obama to talk up prospects for both Britain and the EU after their divorce.

Ahead of the meeting, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the UK should start the formal process of leaving the EU as soon as possible to prevent Europe "falling into uncertainty".

He said he had a "frank but useful conversation" over the weekend with Mr Johnson, and that he would speak to him at Monday's meeting "with the biggest sincerity and frankness".

"We want to avoid Europe falling into uncertainty. The sooner the UK start their negotiations with the rest of the EU, the better," he said.

Mr Ayrault also said France continued to have a good working relationship with Britain.

"France and the UK still have an important bilateral relation, especially on matters of defence and migration, such as the Touquet agreement for Calais," he added.

The meeting comes after new Brexit Secretary David Davis said EU migrants who come to the UK as a departure date nears may not be given the right to stay.

He said there might have to be a cut-off point if there were a "surge" in new arrivals but any steps must be compatible with EU law.
 

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