Whilst British PM David Cameron arrived to a frosty reception at the European Commission amid his country’s decision to leave the bloc, Greece’s PM Alexis Tsipras was more upbeat, viewing the Brexit as an opportunity to restart the European project.
“We must take initiatives to replace austerity with growth, division with convergence, unemployment with quality jobs, and the endless meetings behind closed doors with transparency and democracy,” he told reporters upon his arrival at the summit.
“We are not the guests of the conservatives in Europe”, he said at a meeting of Euro-socialists on the sidelines of the summit, adding that it was imperative to forge a progressive front to re-establish a more humane and socially minded EU.
Brexit, he claims, should act as a wake-up call for the bloc, which is at a “very difficult crossroads.”
“We have arrived at a predictable crisis due a democratic deficit, the lack of social cohesion and solidarity,” he said, adding that Europe needs “to take daring decisions to make itself more attractive to its citizens.’’
