“Why Are You Here?”: EU Official Asks Nigel Farage During Emergency Meeting in Brussels

“That’s the last time you’re applauding here.”


As Britain reels from the aftershock of its decision to withdraw from the European Union, Nigel Farage, one of the most vocal Brexit advocates, insulted EU officials on Tuesday by saying they were in denial and that they had “never had a proper job before.”

“The reason you’re so upset, the reason you’re so angry, has been perfectly clear from all the angry exchanges this morning,” he told EU leaders during an emergency meeting in Brussels.

“You, as a political project, are in denial. You are in denial that your currency is failing.”

Farage’s remarks, which apparently ignored the British pound’s precipitous decline in the wake of Thursday’s referendum, drew loud jeers from members of the EU Parliament, with one of the sharpest attacks coming from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker:

Following the emergency session, Farage took a moment to congratulate himself for his speech, further highlighting parallels between him and master self-promoter Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

 

The clashes on Tuesday come amid calls from EU officials for Britain to exit from the European Union swiftly, so as to stem any further international and economic uncertainty in the aftermath of the unprecedented vote. British Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted his successor should be in place to manage the transition when he steps down from office in October. Brexit leaders, however, have resisted, saying there was “no need for haste” after the vote.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate