French President Emmanuel Macron has branded Brexit “the biggest lie of the last 30 years”, using a speech in Madrid to highlight what he described as Britain’s economic and political difficulties since leaving the European Union.
During his state visit to Spain on Tuesday evening, Macron also pointed to the UK’s continuing struggle to manage immigration, an issue that featured prominently in the campaign before the 2016 referendum.
“Brexit is the biggest lie of the last 30 years,” the French leader said. “Those who promised, ‘We will be richer’ – ten years later, GDP is eight points lower.”
He continued: “Those who said, ‘We will solve the immigration problem’ – it is more complicated than it was before. And those who promised, ‘We will become a major success in international trade’ – it is even worse.”
Macron spoke just hours before Andy Burnham said Britain should examine a range of possible future arrangements with the EU, including the prospect of rejoining the bloc, during an interview with Radio 4’s Today programme.
Asked about Burnham’s comments alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Macron described the possibility of Britain returning to the EU as “excellent news” and “a good decision”.
Sanchez also signalled his support, saying Spain would welcome the UK back into the European Union “with open arms”.
Macron said Britain had historically played a valuable role in helping the EU simplify its processes, while also being a challenging and demanding partner.
French President Emmanuel Macron described Brexit as “the biggest lie of the last 30 years” during a conference in Madrid.
Andy Burnham said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that Britain should consider every option for its future relationship with the EU, including rejoining the bloc.
“Andy Burnham is right to show this boldness,” Macron said. However, he warned that Britain could not expect to deepen its relationship with the EU indefinitely while remaining outside the bloc, almost a decade after the Brexit vote.
“You cannot choose among the freedoms of the union, taking what suits you while rejecting the rest,” he said.
With a smile, Macron then delivered a brief message in English: “Welcome back.”
Sanchez took a similar view, describing Brexit as “a huge loss” for both the British people and the wider European project.
In an interview broadcast earlier in the day, Burnham said rejoining the EU was one of several possible answers to the unavoidable question of what Britain’s long-term relationship with Europe should be.
His remarks followed a speech at the governing Labour Party’s annual conference, where he promised to outline “different options” for Britain’s future links with the European Union ahead of a planned summit with the bloc later this year.
Burnham has faced criticism since raising the possibility of rejoining the EU. Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra warned that returning to the bloc was “unrealistic”.
The comments also marked a sharp change in position for Burnham, who told a conference in Leeds in May: “I am not proposing that the UK considers rejoining the EU.”
“I respect the decision made in the referendum, and failing to honour that vote would undermine everything I have said about strengthening democracy,” he added.
Macron made the comments during a Madrid press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
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The Prime Minister told the BBC he did not want to leave the issue ‘hanging’ and he wanted to be clear on ‘where we want Britain to go in the next decade’.
Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc, Mr Burnham told Radio 4’s Today programme he wanted to ‘look at the options’.
He added: ‘We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,’ he told the programme.
‘We could look at what (former Conservative chancellor) George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market, or we could go all the way.’
Labour’s election manifesto in 2024 ruled out joining a customs union, going back into the single market, or allowing the return of freedom of movement with the EU.
‘There are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each,’ he told the BBC.