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UN / BREXIT
STORY: UN / BREXIT
TRT: 01:11
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 MARCH 2017, NEW YORK CITY
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
29 MARCH 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Pan left, British ambassador approaching stakeout
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
“The UK (United Kingdom) is leaving the EU (European Union) but is not leaving Europe. We are not leaving the world stage. Our presence on the world stage is in many ways represented here, at the Security Council, where we were a Permanent Member of the Security Council before we joined the EU; we have been a Permanent Member of the Security Council as a member of the EU; and we will continue to be a Permanent Member of the Security Council after we leave the EU.”
4. Wide shot, British ambassador at stakeout
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
“And after two years all that will depend on how the negotiation goes, but I would expect that you will not be seeing a sudden change in the British interest. You will not be seeing a sudden change in British values. You will not be seeing a sudden change in the British position on many, on most of the issues which come before the Security Council and indeed other parts of the United Nations. The UK will continue to be a permanent member of the Security Council and a leading player on international development, human rights, and everything else that the United Nations does.”
6. Pan right, British ambassador leaving stakeout
British ambassador Matthew Rycroft said today (29 Mar) while his country was leaving the European Union (EU), it was not leaving Europe and the world stage.
Speaking to reporters outside the Security Council, Rycroft said the United Kingdom (UK) would remain a full member of the EU until the end of the two year negotiation process for its exit. He stressed that the UK would continue to fulfill its Lisbon Treaty obligations at the United Nations (UN), which are to put forward at the Security Council common position of the EU where they exist and to operate transparently with other ambassadors from across the EU.
He said British presence on the world stage was in many ways represented at the Security Council, adding, “we were a Permanent Member of the Security Council before we joined the EU; we have been a Permanent Member of the Security Council as a member of the EU; and we will continue to be a Permanent Member of the Security Council after we leave the EU.” Rycroft said the UK sees its role at the Security Council as an important responsibility and part of the British identity, and will thus remain engaged on foreign policy and security policy in that capacity.
The British ambassador anticipated his country would continue to be completely aligned with the rest of the EU and work closely with them at the UN and elsewhere. He said what will follow would depend on the negotiations and expected there would be no “sudden” changes to British values and “most of the issues which come before the Security Council and indeed other parts of the United Nations.”
Earlier today, British Prime Minister Theresa May formally triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin the UK’s exit from the European Union in an official letter handed to European Council President Donald Tusk by the British delegation to the EU.
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