European Union member states are resisting further integration within the bloc after the Brexit vote, a former EU Commission chief has said.
Former European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Brexit was a “problem” for the bloc.
Speaking to RT, Mr Barroso said a drive for integration had led to resistance.
He said: “Brexit is an important issue. It was a problem, I was not happy with it.
“But to be honest, Great Britain was always some kind of exceptional case in the EU.
“Britain did not want to be a member of the Euro, did not want to be member of Schengen, there was what sometime we called a British exceptionalism.
“So it’s true that is a problem. Having said that, if you look at overall integration of the EU, if you measure it by any indicator, it’s more integrated now that 10 or 20 years ago.
“But precisely because there’s integration, there’s a movement of integration, there’s resistance.
“It’s true, it’s dialectic – if I can use that expression – dialectic resistance. So if there’s a movement for integration, there’s resistance.”
Meanwhile, Theresa May on Monday announced that “no citizen” from the EU who lives in Britain will be asked to leave after Brexit.
The Prime Minister revealed full details of her proposal for EU citizens’ rights as part of her Brexit negotiations.
She said she wanted a “reciprocal” agreement on the rights of UK citizens in European Union member states.
Mrs May told the House of Commons: “We want certainty. I know there has been anxiety.
“Today I want to put that anxiety to rest I want to reassure people under the these plans no EU citizen legally in the UK will not be asked to leave.
“We want you to stay. I have always been clear that I want to protect their rights.”
