Paris:
The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated on Thursday he was in the procedure of applying for a French passport to sustain his ties with the European Union just after Brexit.
Stanley Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament who voted Remain in Britain’s 2016 referendum, told RTL radio he wanted to turn into a French citizen for the reason that of powerful household hyperlinks to France.
“If I understand it correctly, I am French. My mother was born in France, her mother was totally French as was her grandfather. So for me it is about reclaiming what I already have. And that makes me very happy,” stated the 80-year-old Johnson, who was speaking in French.
“I will always be a European, that’s for sure. One cannot tell the British people: you are not Europeans. Having a tie with the European Union is important,” he added.
His son Boris was the public face of the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum and says Britain can “prosper mightily” as a completely sovereign nation outdoors what he sees as an overly bureaucratic EU.
But on Wednesday the prime minister sounded a more concilatory note as parliament authorized a new trade deal with the EU, saying: “This is not the end of Britain as a European country. We are in many ways the quintessential European civilisation… and we will continue to be that.”
The United Kingdom officially leaves the EU’s orbit on Thursday evening, just after an frequently strained 48-year liaison with the European project.
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