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Thursday 16 November 2017 WORLD NEWS
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Key EU lawmaker warns UK it must act to unblock Brexit talks

ress on divorce terms is pre- — both from the opposi-
venting talks from moving tion and from May’s Con-
on to future relations and servative Party — are trying
trade. to amend it to soften the
They are due to decide terms of Britain’s exit from
next month whether there the bloc.
has been sufficient prog- Debate in the House of
ress to move on. Commons has turned testy,
Weber, who heads the with Brexit-backing Conser-
center-right EPP group in vatives accusing their pro-
the European Parliament, European party colleagues
said Tuesday that at the of trying to stop Britain from
moment “it doesn’t look as leaving the EU.
if we are going to be enter- The Daily Telegraph news-
ing into the second phase” paper on Wednesday ran
next month. front-page photos of pro-
Meanwhile, May’s gov- EU Conservatives, brand-
ernment is fighting in the ing them “the Brexit muti-
House of Commons to pass neers.”
its key piece of Brexit legis- Lawmaker Anna Soubry
lation amid opposition from said that kind of language
In this grab taken from video, British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during Prime Minister’s
Questions, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday Nov. 15, 2017. A leading member of pro-EU lawmakers. was a “blatant piece of
the European Parliament is warning Britain that it needs to do more to settle the terms of its divorce The European Union (With- bullying that goes to the
from the European Union or risk negotiations being delayed even further. Manfred Weber is due to drawal) Bill is designed to very heart of democracy.”
meet Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday. prevent a legal vacuum by May told lawmakers
(PA via AP) converting some 12,000 EU Wednesday that the de-
laws into British statute on bate had aroused “strong
By JILL LAWLESS more to settle the terms of In a video message he said the day the U.K. leaves the views” but that the govern-
Associated Press its divorce from the Euro- Britain needs to resolve is- bloc in March 2019. ment wanted to work with
LONDON (AP) — A leading pean Union or risk negotia- sues including its outstand- But many lawmakers claim others to improve the bill.
member of the European tions being delayed even ing financial commitments, the bill gives the govern- “I hope that we can all
Parliament is meeting Prime further. because “when somebody ment too much power to come together to deliver
Minister Theresa May on Manfred Weber is due to is leaving a club” they must amend legislation without on the decision that the
Wednesday, and warned meet May at 10 Downing pay their bills. parliamentary scrutiny. country took” to leave the
that Britain needs to do St. EU leaders say lack of prog- And opponents of Brexit EU, she said.q

Key EU lawmaker warns UK it must act to unblock Brexit talks

By VANESSA GERA between European offi-
Associated Press cials trying to keep Poland
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — on a democratic course
Poland’s government hit and Polish officials who ar-
back Wednesday after gue the ruling party has a
the European Parliament democratic mandate to
launched action over con- change its own country’s
cerns that the right-wing court system and that Brus-
government in Warsaw has sels has no right to interfere
compromised the inde- in the affairs of sovereign
pendence of the judiciary nations.
and risks breaching funda- Ryszard Legutko, a mem-
mental European values. ber of Poland’s ruling party,
Prime Minister Beata Szydlo accused the EU of waging
described the events in the an illegal “crusade against
Parliament — where a bit- Poland.” He also accused
ter debate preceded the the German media, which
vote — as “scandalous.” have criticized Poland’s di-
The Foreign Ministry called rection, of holding an “an-
the resolution a “political ti-Polish orgy.”
instrument of pressure on Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo speaks during a press conference summarizing two years of her In turn, others sharply criti-
Poland,” describing the government, in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. cized Poland’s govern-
document as “one-sided” (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) ment, with the parliament’s
and saying it was based of-law procedure against draw up a legal proposal launched a procedure of liberal leader Guy Verhof-
on political considerations the Polish government on to formally request that the its own amid concerns that stadt saying the Polish gov-
and not on legal analysis. Wednesday. mechanism — known as new laws in Poland un- ernment “has lost its sens-
In a resolution adopted by The procedure could lead Article 7 — be activated dermine judicial indepen- es.” Gianni Pittella, leader
438 to 152, with 71 absten- to the suspensions of Po- due to a “clear risk of a se- dence and the rule of law. of an alliance of Socialists
tions, the European law- land’s EU voting rights. rious breach” of EU values. The vote came after a and Democrats, accused
makers triggered the first The assembly’s Civil Liber- The EU’s executive, the heated debate that ex- Warsaw of showing “scorn
stage of a so-called rule- ties Committee must now Commission, has already posed the bitter feelings for liberal democracy.”q