British historian Timothy Gordon Ash agreed in Lisbon to maintain hope that the United Kingdom could return to the EU.
In an interview with Lusa Agency, he said, “I’m a very European Englishman,” about the launch of his latest work, “Patrias – Uma Historia Personal da Europa” in Portugal.
The author of several works on Europe, Gordon Ash reiterated a sentiment he expressed in recent years: “Brexit is one of the greatest personal tragedies of my political career”.
The professor of European Studies at Oxford University points out that the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union in 2020 was usually decided by a referendum, but most British people now consider the wrong decision.
Citing recent polls, 31% said it was the right decision, 56% thought the opposite, 63% considered it a failure and only 9% considered the process a success.
Gordon Ash recalls that, compared to the beginning of the 1980s, the European Union was completely different, after the enlargement processes, which required the deepening of the European project.
He advocated that the development of the European Union should progress in a process called “progressive integration”, in which candidate countries fulfill positions in various sectors.
The advantage, he emphasized, is that Ukraine or Serbia, every year or every two, have a “system of positive incentives” that allows them to see that they have made progress, encouraging more reforms that create more access.
Gordon Ash also considered that Europe was shaped by four political generations that lived through the two great wars of 1914–1918 and 1939–1945 and the political and social changes of 1968 and 1989.
“Are we going to see a generation of 2022 shaped by the return of great wars to the European continent?” he questioned.
As for the UK’s return to the EU, he admitted confidently that it would happen: “I truly believe, I believe passionately”.
