British Prime Minister Theresa May penned an open letter to the European people, which was published in six continential dailies on Thursday, including Le Parisien in France.

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In the letter, May assured Europe that Britain’s decision to leave the European Union “does not signify in any way a rejection of the values that we have in common as Europeans. Nor is it an attempt to do harm to the Union, nor to any of the states within it. On the contrary, the United Kingdom wants the European Union to succeed and prosper.

In addition to Le Parisien, the letter appeared in The Irish Times, Rzeczpospolita in Poland, Dagens Nyheter in Sweden, El Pais in Spain, La Repubblica in Italy and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany.

“Our referendum was, in our view, a vote to re-establish our national self-determination. We are leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe and we want to remain partners and strong allies of France and of all our friends on the Continent,” May wrote.

“In fact, in the beginning of this month, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were warmly welcomed in Paris, where they launched a new campaign -- the Neighbours -- aimed specifically at celebrating the longstanding friendship between our two nations.

“As our closest friend and neighbour, we hope after our departure to establish a close and special relationship with all the countries in the European Union. This unique partnership must be translated into co-operation on economic issues and on security, because that is in the best interest of Britain, France, the EU and the entire world.”

The letter was essentially a version of the speech May delivered yesterday to the House of Commons intended to reassure Europe that Britain will remain the country that has been a partner to them for so many decades and that, in effect, little would change.

She also conceded, as she did in her letter to European Council President Donald Tusk yesterday, that Britain would not be able to cherry-pick from the elements of the treaty governing the European Union, nor would it be able to influence new rules going forward. On the other hand, the UK will now be able to determine its own policies.

May pointed out that, with 50 billion euros worth of trade between the two countries each year, it is in the interest of both nations to keep working together, without unnecessary trade barriers. And, in a word of reassurance to expats living on both sides of the English Channel, she promised to “guarantee the rights of citizens of the European Union already living in the United Kingdom and those of British citizens living in the other Member States as soon as possible".

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