The news that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is stepping down has been welcomed in the European Parliament with relief and joy. Johnson has thoroughly ruined the relationship between Brussels and London, many say.
“Finally,” says the German trade specialist and chairman of the working group in which MEPs consult with the United Kingdom. “Johnson was only concerned with staying in power and his own ego,” says Bernd Lange. The Social Democrat points to the collision course that London chose to get rid of the tight Brexit agreements on the Northern Ireland border. “Now the theatrical British fireworks must stop. We need a fresh start in EU-UK relations.”
It was high time Johnson resigned, says Greens colleague Anna Cavazzini. He was “a disaster” for relations between London and Brussels, she says. GroenLinkser Bas Eickhout subtly notes that things are still not going very smoothly with the liberation from Brussels dominance that Brexiter Johnson once promised. “Becoming your own boss again” is going well,” he mocks on Twitter.
The European Commission will not comment on Johnson’s imminent departure.