Advertisement

Boris Johnson ‘very enthusiastic’ about Macron’s new club of European leaders, says France

An Elysee Palace spokesman said Boris Johnson expressed interest in Emmanuel Macron’s initiative - Stefan Rousseau/Pool/Getty Images
An Elysee Palace spokesman said Boris Johnson expressed interest in Emmanuel Macron’s initiative - Stefan Rousseau/Pool/Getty Images

Boris Johnson’s allies have denied that Britain plans to join a new club of European leaders led by Emmanuel Macron, despite French claims that he was “very enthusiastic” about the idea.

Sources close to the Prime Minister said it was very unlikely that the UK would sign up to Mr Macron’s European Political Community, which is designed to encourage diplomatic co-operation between states and could involve increased freedom of movement.

Despite the apparent tension over the issue, a UK delegation source said the two leaders were planning a bilateral visit in the coming weeks.

The group would contain states from EU and non-EU countries and “find a new area of political co-operation,” according to a conference speech by the French president last month.

Mr Macron floated the idea with Mr Johnson at a bilateral meeting at the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday after hinting in the speech that he would like the UK to join.

“Joining it would not necessarily prejudge future membership of the European Union, just as it would not be closed to those who have left it,” he said.

An Elysee Palace spokesman on Sunday reported that Mr Johnson had expressed “beacoup d’enthousiasme” about the group despite concerns it would undermine the UK’s political freedom from Europe after Brexit.

The spokesman said Mr Macron “explained that it was a matter of having an effective short-term co-operation framework on subjects of common interest to the countries of the continent, notably in terms of security, energy, infrastructure and youth”.

He added: “Prime Minister Johnson expressed interest in this initiative.”

But a member of the UK delegation told The Telegraph that the Prime Minister’s reaction was “not a meaningful endorsement” of the idea and “more like a deflection”, and that the pair had only chatted briefly about it at the end of their meeting.

Mr Johnson is understood to have told Mr Macron he did not think the group would work without the involvement of Maghreb countries such as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.

Downing Street also has concerns that the UK would have limited influence in such a group, which would be dominated by France and other EU countries.

“We don’t want to be locked into a shadow EU organisation,” the source said.

A Number 10 spokesman said: “I think having control of immigration, control of our borders, was one of the reasons we left the EU, and there’s absolutely no suggestion that we would change that in any way, shape or form.

“But it makes sense, obviously, to listen to any idea put forward by like-minded countries. We will consider what is presented to us and respond in due course.”

Mr Macron’s project has also been mooted as a way of bringing Ukraine closer to the EU without making it a member state.

Other states not eligible to join the bloc, including Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo, could also join the new political club.

But Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said: “Nothing that falls short of EU membership would be acceptable.”