Ireland's leadership of the European Union has only just begun, but its already started making waves by suggesting one longtime member should quit the struggling supranational organisation.
In an interview with the Brussels based European Voice, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said today that the United Kingdom should leave the E.U. immediately due to its "belligerent attitude" towards other members and "childish obstructionism" of the European project.
Kenny was asked to comment on how he hopes to further the cause of European integration despite London's desire to repatriate powers from Brussels to member states. He instantly and uncharacteristically made clear his frustration with his neighbors across the Irish Sea:
"I'm not sure why the U.K. is still in the European Union to be honest. Every time we try to do something, London tries to stop it. And they never have any original ideas of their own. Its nothing but bitching and whining. Childish obstructionism at its worst."
"If any other member behaved the way Britain does, they would have been thrown out years ago. Its a great mystery to me why they're still around."
Matthew 12:25
Ireland took over the E.U.'s rotating 6-month presidency on January 1st and inherits a bloc hoping to strengthen economic ties in response to the Eurozone's sovereign debt crisis. Dublin's reign also coincides, however, with growing Euroscepticism in the U.K. which threatens to derail Europe's march toward greater integration.
"Despite our problems, E.U. membership has been a boon to Ireland and the U.K. alike," Kenny argues, "The Irish are appreciative. The British, on the other hand, don't realize how good they have it."
"E.U. common market rules give London financial firms access to giant pools of capital and skills. And European trade policy opens up new markets for British exporters in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors."
'Europe has been an enormous stimulus to the U.K. economy. But pick up a newspaper over there and you'd think the sky was falling. The British public blames everything on Brussels. They act as if Eurocrats force them to have ugly women, bad food, and beer that tastes like squirrel piss. Its pathetic."
Asked if he thought Britain should leave the E.U. as soon as possible, Kenny was unequivocal:
"Yes I think they should leave tomorrow. This isn't an empire folks, its a union. If you can't play by the rules, then get your arse out."
