Harold Wilson Quotes

Having led many negotiations with countries outside the E.U. in the past, we would never enter the same compromises and reach the same good outcomes with states that don't shoulder the responsibilities and costs of the common market.

The negotiations on the future of the U.K. and the E.U. must be led... in the interest of our citizens.

What I would rather see, what I think would be the best outcome, is a very close relationship between the United Kingdom and the E.U.

You still hear some people speaking as though we could decide whether the Common market existed or not.

I would like a UK fully engaged in Europe, but I can't decide in place of the British. I see that for the moment they want to be more in retreat.

I do not overlook the fact that the appearance of these new, free nations in the European political community not only celebrates the return of the prodigal son but also creates new sources of friction here and there.

To be influential in tomorrow's world, to defend our values and our development model, France needs Europe and Europe needs France.

I think the U.K. would be perfectly successful as a standalone country, part of the European marketplace like Norway and Switzerland but without the expensive E.U. bureaucracy.

Britain is a European power. We cannot change our geography. Our involvement in the politics of European cooperation is one of necessity. Our wealth and our security depend upon it.

Why don’t you ask us to grant you bases?

The EU is an English-speaking power. The single market was a British idea…. If you refuse please don’t expect us to help you wreck or paralyze the EU.

The EU represents a highly developed system for mutual interference in each other’s domestic affairs right down to beer and sausages.

I have specifically argued that we need to change our relationship with the European Union by fundamentally reforming not just our relationship but the European Union itself.

You can suddenly have a series of countries waking up and saying, 'I want the same status as the Brits,' which will be, de facto, the dismantling of the rest of Europe.

There is no doubt that our government is pro-European.

If we say to the E.U. our backstop position is that we will be the vassal state, why should the E.U. make any effort to make any arrangement other than us to be a vassal state?

We need sound political and economic relations with the United Kingdom, and I am very grateful to the European Union's lead negotiator, grateful to him for everything he has done. We will do our best to support him and also preserve the unity of the 27 in these matters.

As the great advocates of trade and liberal markets, Conservatives should guide our country through the transition from being one of twenty-eight in the E.U. to a strong, sovereign and independent country.

Every country has its own diplomacy. Being part of Europe doesn't mean giving up one's independence or no longer being able to take the initiative.

While we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom.

The Russians are not going to do what we want them to do because we want them to do it.

Poland is smaller than France or Germany, for example. What would a common foreign policy look like? Would the trip I took to Kiev last week require a detour through Brussels in the future? Would it require approval from Brussels? While the West, for its part, doesn't think twice about other countries when it comes to its projects?

I happen to think that as the Ukraine moves to the West, towards the E.U., eventually towards NATO, it will pave the way also for Russia moving towards the West. Because it will become a logical extension of the same process, and it will eliminate any imperial ambitions.

I commended Angela [Merkel] for her leadership along with President Hollande in working to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. We continued to stand with the people of Ukraine and for the basic principle that nations have a right to determine their own destiny and we discussed the importance of maintaining sanctions until Russia fully complies with the Minsk Agreement.

The crisis in Ukraine is all the European Union's fault. Its leaders negotiated a trade deal with Ukraine, which essentially blackmailed the country to choose between Europe and Russia.