Macron hopeful on Brexit deal, tepid over EU accession of Balkan countries

Record ID: 1436985

  • Title: Macron hopeful on Brexit deal, tepid over EU accession of Balkan countries
  • Date: 16th October 2019
  • Summary: TOULOUSE, FRANCE (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL AND FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "I agree on every point with what the German chancellor said on Brexit, and our hope, our willingness to be in a position to endorse a deal, which I hope can be found in the coming hours. In any case, what we're hearing today is positive." MACRON AND MERKEL LISTENING TO JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "Europe is a big and beautiful house where we all live together. A few years ago, a member of our family decided to leave and it is hard for us to let them leave the house. And sometimes, we have difficulties renovating the house, repairing the lights, the electricity, and actually many members, when we ask them if they are ready to invest to repair the lights or repair the door, they say 'no I won't be investing in this house, not more than one percent'. Sometimes those same ones, even though we don't know how to leave it or renovate it, say 'we're going to invite some new friends (Macedonia and Albania).'" MERKEL AND MACRON LISTENING TO QUESTION, MACRON LETTING MERKEL ANSWER JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "I salute the courage, tenacity and progress achieved by the two leaders, of Albania and Northern Macedonia. They did a tremendous amount of work in their country these last years." JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PRESIDENT, EMMANUEL MACRON, SAYING: "There are still some more elements to finalise for these countries, I'm thinking of migration, and I'm also thinking of some demands made by the EU (Commission). Voila. I share the same geopolitical and strategic vision with the German chancellor, I want to send a positive signal to these leaders, but looking at this seriously leads me to tell them: this time it's us who need a bit more time to do things in order." GERMAN, EU AND FRENCH FLAGS GERMAN, EU AND FRENCH FLAGS SIGN ON STAGE READING (German AND French): "FRENCH-GERMAN MINISTERIAL COUNCIL" MACRON SAYING THANK YOU / MACRON AND MERKEL WALKING AWAY FROM PODIUM EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT-ELECT URSULA ARRIVING AT PREFECTURE MACRON AND MERKEL WELCOMING VON DER LEYEN, MACRON CAN BE HEARD SAYING (English): "I spent my whole week with both you" (REFERRING TO HIS MEETING WITH MERKEL ON OCTOBER 13 AND WITH VON DER LEYEN ON OCTOBER 14) MACRON, MERKEL AND VON DER LEYEN POSING FOR PHOTO GERMAN, EU AND FRENCH FLAGS HANGING ON HAUTE-GARONNE PREFECTURE BUILDING CATHEDRAL BUILDING COURTYARD OF PREFECTURE, WITH VIEW OF CATHEDRAL
  • Embargoed: 30th October 2019 19:43
  • Keywords: France Macron Merkel EU Brexit
  • Location: TOULOUSE, FRANCE
  • City: TOULOUSE, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B1CM5AF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday (October 16) a Brexit deal could be found between Britain and the European Union in the coming hours and endorsed by EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday.
    Macron speaking at a news conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Toulouse, said there was a possibility a deal could be found, ''in the coming hours.''
    Merkel said she believed slightly more that a deal was possible.
    After another day of technical talks in Brussels, EU officials said an agreement had been reached on customs arrangements for Northern Ireland, 'level playing field' provisions on labour and environment standards that the EU has insisted on to ensure fair competition under a new trade deal after Brexit.
    Macron also confirmed it was too early in his view to start EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, although he recognized the two countries had made significant progress with domestic reforms.
    (Production: Michaela Cabrera)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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