Protesters on Monday gathered in London outside Lancaster House, the site of the first UK-EU summit since Brexit, urging Britain to return to the European Union.
Demonstrators waved UK and EU flags, holding signs reading "Choose Europe" and "The Best Deal is with EU," while chanting "We all live in a Brexit tragedy," as they urged the government to rejoin the bloc.
"We really need to go all the way and get back to the stage we were with the EU. I'm a European citizen, and I have been wrenched out of the European Union and lost all my rights. So, I consider it's just a matter of my rights being put back," said Clem Lutter, a protester.
"I'm Romanian. I've lived in the UK for about 14 years now. This is my home. I still don't get to have a say here, and also, the goalposts are changing from government to government on our rights. Only last week, we heard from Keir Starmer that now it might take 10 years for someone like me to be able to naturalise as a British citizen. It's put so many people in feeling like we're really alienated," said Andrea, another protester.
Britain and the EU reached a wide-ranging agreement on Monday, which is expected to generate nearly 9 billion pounds (about 12.02 billion U.S. dollars) for the British economy by 2040, Downing Street announced.
The deal was unveiled ahead of the summit, which was hailed by both sides as a "historic moment." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement a "new chapter" in the relationship, as the two sides seek to reset ties after years of post-Brexit friction.
Anti-Brexit protesters rally in London for UK's return to EU
Officials from the European Union (EU) and Finland have voiced concerns after the White House said it has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including the use of the military.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press briefing in Cairo on Thursday that the message from the U.S. is "extremely concerning," and "not really helping the stability of the world."
Kallas called on all parties to stick to international law, adding that relevant response measures has been discussed among EU members.
"The international law is very clear, and we have to stick to it. It is clear that it is the only thing that protects smaller countries, and that is why it is in the interest of all of us. And we discussed this today, as well, that we uphold the international law on all levels," she said.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Thursday described recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration on Greenland as "worrying," while reiterating Finland's support for Denmark and Greenland's right to self-determination.
"Finland and the other Nordic countries have exceptional expertise in Arctic conditions, and we are happy to make use of that together with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to strengthen Arctic security, but it cannot be done by threatening allies," she said at a press conference at Finnish parliament after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.
Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "unprecedented" for threats of violence to be made within NATO against another member in connection with seizing territory, adding that such threats run counter to the United Nations Charter and that their inconsistency with international law should be underscored at all levels.
EU, Finnish officials express concerns over US remarks on Greenland
