British EU Court Judge Deplores ‘Warlike’ Tones on Brexit
British EU Court Judge Deplores ‘Warlike’ Tones on Brexit
(Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s judge at the European Union’s lower court said he deplored the way Brexit politics is depicted in Britain like a war between his country and the EU.
Jan. 31 should “be a day not of rage or anger, but rather of sadness,” Ian Forrester said in a Brussels speech, a day before the U.K. formally quits the bloc, putting an end to his time at the EU General Court in Luxembourg.
“I deeply deplore the warlike tones in which negotiations, speeches and dialogs about Brexit mechanics are reported,” Forrester said. “It is not the case that the U.K. is at war with its 27 partners. That will not change.”
The 75-year-old joined the EU’s lower court less than a year before Britain’s fateful June 2016 referendum. While his term officially ended last August, he stayed on under procedures that extend a judge’s term until his successor takes over. In the U.K.’s case, this wasn’t going to happen.
“There are immense, obvious, real political economic challenges, which diplomacy will have to bridge,” Forrester told the audience at an EU law conference. “I urge us all to refrain from presenting these as a prize fight in which the winner knocks out the loser.”
Forrester previously worked at law firm White & Case in Brussels, making a name for himself not just as one of the lead lawyers in Microsoft Corp.’s precedent-setting EU antitrust battle, but also for leading the firm’s pro bono activities from 2010.
“It’s been an immense honor and a pleasure to sit with talented colleagues in 27 countries,” he said in Brussels. “I’d hoped to end my career on a professional high in that fascinating institution. That’s not to be.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephanie Bodoni in Brussels at sbodoni@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Chapman at pchapman10@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser
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