Brussels-based insiders read Juppé’s remarks in a different way. “That doesn’t mean we compromise on basic principles,” said one senior national diplomat, adding that it would be “a mistake” for the UK to rely on talks with small groups of countries.
“It would make the position of the 27 more difficult to formulate and could lead to misunderstandings and illusions on the British side, and would prolong negative consequences,” he said. [...]
But Britain had no future as a stand-alone power, he insisted. “There is no country in Europe which is a great power. We are all middle-ranking powers, so there is no future for us to stand alone in this globalised world.”
Despite his concern about the loss of Britain’s diplomatic clout to the EU, he said British influence had already been waning. He pointed out that the British prime minister had not been in Minsk, when European leaders brokered a shaky truce in Ukraine. “France and Germany were there, but Britain was absent.”
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