'Come all the way' back to EU, French finance minister tells UK
Roland Lescure tells the BBC that being in the bloc enables members to better address the challenges facing the world.
'Come all the way' back to EU, French finance minister tells UK
French finance minister Roland Lescure has urged Britain to "come all the way" back to the EU, after Prime Minister Andy Burnham indicated that a second Brexit referendum was "possible" in a future Labour election manifesto.
Lescure said membership of the bloc brings some challenges, but also helps countries respond more effectively to the problems the world is facing.
Last week, Burnham said the UK should "consider the options", from remaining as it is, to rejoining the customs union or single market, or going "all the way".
When asked about the PM's remarks, Lescure told the BBC: "British people decided, and that's obviously their 100% right, and if they're willing to come back, they will have to decide."
"But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime."
Burnham recently said planned EU rules designed to support European manufacturers would hurt the UK.
The prime minister raised concerns about the impact on British industry and supply chains from the proposed Made In Europe scheme.
The plans are intended to shield EU industry from Chinese rivals by giving firms within the bloc preference for public contracts and subsidies. The EU's car industry has called for the UK to be included in order to avoid disruption to its own supply chains.
Asked whether Britain could be excluded from the scheme, Lescure said: "Come back, and you'll be at the table, and we discuss all these things together."
The finance minister's BBC interview also covered French domestic issues, including student protests that have spread across the country, with more than 500 schools fully or partly closed as of Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating for better conditions in schools.
Lescure said it was a "tough world" for young people, adding that he understood why they were worried and that "our duty as leaders is to listen to them".
"It's hard to tell young people we're not going to have the money for you because we're spending a lot on health and pensions," he acknowledged.
"We're getting people more healthy. People live longer. But we cannot just say 'this is fine' and then we don't have money left for the kids, so we need to rebalance that."
In France's coming budget, he said he will reduce health spending and ask retired people to accept a pension increase next year that is below inflation.
While he said "not all" French schools were crumbling, he promised more investment in education, adding: "If we need to do more, we'll have to see."
Other problems France is facing include its budget deficit and markets driving up borrowing costs.
Lescure admitted that France's annual public borrowing of more than 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) was "alarming", and said "that's why we need to act now" to avoid being forced to act later.
Asked about the chance of intervention from the eurozone's central bank, Lescure said his job was to ensure France did not have to "go there".
With French borrowing costs rising sharply, particularly the premium paid over eurozone partner Germany, Lescure admitted it was "more expensive" to borrow but said there was "no issue" with issuing its debt.
He said his budget "will pass" a divided French parliament and that there were "lots of different ways" to make that happen.