Strength does not lie in 'splendid isolation' of Brexit, says EU president Ursula von der Leyen

The European Commission president has wished Britain well with Brexit, but warned that "strength does not lie in splendid isolation"

On the day of the UK's departure, Ursula von der Leyen and other top officials told a gathering in Brussels that they should look at the future of the European project, as the bloc plans to reinvent itself at 27 members.

“We know very well that as the sun rises tomorrow a new chapter for our union of 27 will start,” Ms von der Leyen told an audience in the Parliamentarium, a museum dedicated to the history of pan-European democracy.

“Our experience has taught us that strength does not lie in splendid isolation, but in our unique union. Nowhere else in the world can you find 27 nations of 440 million people speaking 24 different languages, relying on each other, working together, living together. "This is not by accident or by chance; this is grounded in centuries of shared history, decades of shared experience."

She added: "If you look at the enlargement process you see that the beauty of the European Union is that nobody has been forced to join the European Union. All came voluntarily."

Asked what the EU was losing with the UK's departure, she said: "We are losing a former member that was very pragmatic, very down to earth, very clear in the economic agenda. It was not always easy, but all 27 are not always easy."

Turning to trade, she reiterated the EU's long-held stance that the trade deal the UK was about to try and negotiate could not be as good as membership, adding: "Britain will become a third country, and for all third countries, the following applies: Only those who acknowledge the rules of the common market can benefit fully from the common market."

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, told the same event: "It's never a happy moment when someone leaves but we are opening a new chapter and we will devote all our energy to building a stronger and more ambitious European Union."

He continued: "I'll say this is an exceptional, a special day for the European project. Of course, we have lukewarm feelings about what is happening, but what is the dominant feeling for me is that it's important to look to the future of the European project."

The intervention is part of Brussels' strategy to seize the narrative by talking about the EU's future, as Britain departs. The bloc plans to hold a conference on its future later this year – with Europe Day, 9 May, a mooted date.

David Sassoli, the president of the elected European Parliament, said: "This day will go down in the history of the European Union but it will allow our institutions and our countries to be fare more united in our defence of this great vital area and the citizens of the old."

But turning to eurosceptics, he asked: "Why are these people working so hard to break up the European area? Because within our countries too, there are certain people who are trying to run with this torch. They are groups, forces, who are trying to weaken the European Union. But what's their agenda?"

In a likely reference to far-right politicians like Matteo Salvini in his home state of Italy, Mr Sassoli said such people were motivated to attack the EU "because they are afraid of a rule-governed world".

Over in Dublin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Ireland would take a tough stance in trade talks. Mr Varadkar is in the middle of an election campaign and facing reelection.

"Having control of their own fishing grounds is not going to be much use to them unless they can export to the EU," he told public broadcaster RTÉ.

"That is why it gets tied up with trade and we are going to take a very firm line on that to make sure that we protect our coastal communities and our fishing industry."

Britain leaves the EU at 11pm UK time tonight – midnight in Brussels.