28/06/2016 Outside Source

Hello, I'm Ros Atkins, this is Outside Source.

We're live from the European Council.

Yesterday we were right next to the European Commission across the road

but we are here because leaders from 28 European Union countries are

meeting and we expect them to speak any minute and when they do we will

bring that to you. In the meantime, we will turn to Turkey because there

have been a series of attacks on the main airport in Istanbul. These are

pictures coming in. We will get more information on that in the next

couple of minutes. David Cameron had face-to-face meetings with Donald

Tusk, Jean-Claude Juncker, and is currently meeting with all EU

leaders to look at how the UK will exit the European Union. While

pressure is mounting on the UK to start that process, we will speak to

one of the many journalists in the press room about how the UK is

perceived from outside. As always, if you have issues all questions we

have a busy half-hour, but I will make time for the ones that come in.

We will bring up the map to highlight where these attacks have

taken place in Turkey. It is at the main International Airport in

Istanbul. We know from the authorities there were several

explosions. This is a tweet from my colleague in BBC Turkish who tells

us Turkish officials says two suspects detonated explosives before

passing x-ray security check. We have this quote via the AFP news

agency. The Turkish justice minister telling Parliament...

I can show you the latest pictures to have come in. Emergency

services... I will show you them in a moment because we have got through

to mark who is on a plane that has just landed at the airport. What is

happening? I just landed half an hour ago on this Turkish airlines

flight from Nice where I was covering the England match last

night. We were not given warning about any concerns and we were

allowed to land and now we are being held on the plane and are not

allowed to disembark and the captain is talking about security concerns.

We have heard there were potentially three attacks inside the airport and

one potentially in the car park, one we understand at the departures

entrance, entrance into the departures terminal, and one

possibly next to the arrivals terminal. We're not sure if that

means there were three attackers. Reports one attacker sprayed

Kalashnikov gun fire and then blew himself up when police tried to

intervene. We do not know about the other two. The justice minister

saying there are at least ten dead and 40 wounded and that is the

casualty toll we are told at the moment. What is happening on the

plane, what can you see from the window, are you getting information

from the pilot about what is happening? I do not know if you can

see here, we are inside the hangar, one of the hangars of Turkish

airlines because we have been taken away from the gate. I am seeing

security staff standing by. It is a calm atmosphere on the plane. No

sense of panic at the moment. The feeling that we could be here a

couple of hours, which is what we have been told by the cabin crew,

before we are allowed to disembark. At the moment we are getting dribs

and drabs of information from inside the airport. Just to explain what

the airport is like, this is the fourth biggest airport in Europe, it

is the 11th busiest in the world. It is an important international hub

will stop I have lived in Istanbul two years and when I have driven end

I have been struck the security checks on cars going in our limited

but once you try to get into the terminal they are stringent. Clearly

what has happened is attackers were able to penetrate the area around

the terminal building, whether they drove in we do not know, and then

launched attacks outside the door into the terminal building.

Unfortunately, this will not be a surprise to anyone who follows

Turkey closely. No, that is the tragic thing. In the last year there

have been a wave of attacks across the country. Some blamed on

so-called Islamic State, others claimed by Kurdish militants. Added

offshoot of the PKK which the government believes is essentially

the same thing -- and and offshoot. They have targeted not just areas of

the south-east where the PKK conference resumed but cities like

Ankara. Some have targeted tourists, others being security areas. Ataturk

airport, this major international hub, has been seen as a potential

target for this upsurge in insurgency and we wait to hear which

of these groups will claim responsibility. There was also an

attack on Istanbul's second airport in December by a group calling

itself Tak. Devices were thrown into the terminal and caused injuries but

nothing of an attack of this guide. Best wishes to you and everyone else

on the plane. I hope you get off safely and those of you watching, we

will keep you abreast of what is happening in Istanbul. In Istanbul

and also in the newsroom in London. We have been moving around Europe

and UK in the last few weeks and inevitably, we have ended up in the

European Council in Brussels because this is the body within the EU where

leaders of all EU member states come together. I am surrounded by

journalists from the 28 EU countries. That's getting European

perspective on Brexit. This is something I spotted. I spotted a

huge scrum of journalists and wondered who was in there and it was

Nigel Farage on Danish television. It is dead, Finnish, it is all over.

The European Union is finished, it doesn't work. We have just had the

honour in Britain to be the first country who rejected membership will

stop it could be Denmark backs. It could be the Netherlands. It could

be Sweden next. Other countries will have referendums. They will reject

this. It is a centralised model of government based on an outdated

concept of a customs union, not suited to the 21st century. I was in

the canteen a few minutes ago and Nigel Farage was sitting on a sofa

having a beer and I said, will you miss the EU? He said, I will miss

the high drama. That was Nigel Farage on Danish television. Let me

show you what the French centre-right newspaper is saying. It

says Franche and Germany want to plan but still have no idea how to

respond to the challenge. -- France. In different ways every country is

trying to work out what plan serves it best. A quote from the Danish

Prime Minister, telling reporters... This is what the Finnish Foreign

Minister said to BBC Radio... Echoing what a lot of people have

been saying that in the end the EU will prioritise its interests over

the UK that is just the way it works. Nigel Farage wanted to get

out of the EU. Marie Le Pen, the leader of the National Front in

France wants her country to have a referendum. She has spoken to the

BBC. TRANSLATION: I think we have

witnessed a defining moment in history. The most important event

since the fall of the Berlin Wall. I think the British people showed

courage. They did not allow themselves to be intimidated by

threats, blackmail and lies or messages of doom from European

elites. We should follow their lead. For four years I have called for a

referendum in France to ask the French public what they think of the

EU. The UK has beaters to the punch, if you like. Do you think it was a

vote on immigration more than anything? Not only that, it was a

serious question about sovereignty, about people being free to decide

for themselves. It is also a battered immigration problem as well

as access to jobs which the British like other European countries

consider unfair. It all played a part and it cost so much. It costs

Britain are not and the French even more. Do you think exit has paved

the way for France to exit? Of course. Firstly because it is

possible. European leaders told as it was impossible to leave EU and

Brexit has shown it is possible. Secondly I think very quickly,

despite the strategy of chaos pursued by European institutions,

very quickly the UK will see the benefit of leaving. A new capacity

to protect itself against unfair competition and against the social

dumping organised by EU institutions.

We will keep on rolling. We are here in Brussels this week and will be in

France next week to look at the implications of the UK choice to

leave the EU for France. I am joined by a member of the Dutch national

news agency AFP. Nigel Farage said it is possible Netherlands or

Denmark could leave. Really? Legally at this moment it is not possible.

You have to have a law asking for a referendum. It has to be within two

months the law is made but at the moment, like in Ukraine referendum,

they had two months before, after this the law was installed. Somebody

could ask for a referendum. That is not the case now because there is no

law about an exit. Some people might think, typical EU, they make it

difficult for opponents to do anything. It is difficult because

our parliament will have to have a majority to have this law. And then

there would have to be someone to take the initiative for the

referendum. A right-wing politician was impressed by the UK choice to

leave and would like to take the Dutch art, but it sounds like there

are too many obstacles in the way. Does public opinion support it? I

think there may be will be a lot of people who would like to leave but I

do not think the real Dutch people want to leave. There was today a

hand in for a referendum on the exit, 56,000 signatures from a

population of 17 million might say a little bit how people feel. This is

one of the biggest stories of our time for the UK, how big is the

story in Holland? I think Brexit is a really big story because the

British are our friends. We have a good relationship. We speak the same

language. I think you speak our language! I think the Dutch people

get on well usually with the British. There is the economic

impact, which will be very big. They say it will cost 10 billion euros

for the Dutch. The trade as it is going now would be stopped. Thanks.

I will let you get back before the press conferences begin. We are

waiting for them to be held by Donald Tusk, president of the

European Council, and we hope to hear from some European leaders. We

will also keep you up-to-date with what is happening at Istanbul

airport, which has been attacked by suicide bombers and the authorities

saying at least ten people have lost their lives. More information coming

in all the time. The Queen has visited

the Giant's Causeway as part The trip is her first since the UK

voted to leave the European Union. The Giant's Causeway might well be

some of the most spectacular land But her visit to Northern Ireland

comes at a time when there are questions about how

united her kingdom is. Just a matter of miles further down

this coast, it's possible to see Scotland, where there are calls

for another independence referendum. That has lead to uncertainty

for the entire UK and worries some unionists here,

even though many of them supported If Scotland want to be independent,

it's democratic that It will not break up what's left

of the UK. But even that phrase,

"What's left of the UK", I could still make

it a lot stronger. You voted Leave, so you're

responsible for that. I voted Leave, yes,

I know I voted Leave. I think maybe now,

it was the wrong decision. Today, the Queen retraced a train

journey she took immediately In the decades since then,

Northern Ireland has been through the violent

years of the Troubles. The relationship between Britain

and Ireland have emerged You only have to look at this

good-natured meeting between Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness

and the Queen to see how much But politically, these

are turbulent times. Northern Ireland as a whole voted

to remain inside the EU, like Scotland, and that vote

was particularly strong Sinn Fein is now calling for Europe

to find some way to keep this part Alternatively, they want

a referendum on a united Ireland. The people spoke

in Northern Ireland, The Republic is an EU country

itself, or part of the EU. I hope we do get it,

I would love to see itin my lifetime, and this

is a chance to get it. Such a referendum could

be generations away. But this monarch is at the head

of a country undergoing huge change. Welcome back alive from the European

Council. We expect statements European leaders and Donald Tusk,

president of the European Council and when it happens we will bring it

to you. The other main story is there have been a series of attacks.

The authorities say they were suicide bombers that left ten people

dead at the main airport in Istanbul. Keith Oberman is a

well-known journalist in the US. He has asked, what kind of havoc would

be wrought if the EU offered membership to Scotland and Northern

Ireland? I do not think that offer will come. Nicola Sturgeon, First

Minister of Scotland, asked for a meeting with the president of the EU

Council, Donald Tusk and that request was declined. If Scotland

were to join the EU you individually, it would have to

happen after a referendum on Scottish independence. We have had

the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying that is more likely after a

majority of Scots voted to remain in the EU and UK voted out, but we are

not at the stage where we have a referendum definitely, so we cannot

talk about the possibility of Scotland going into the EU on its

own and the EU will not offer the invitation any time soon. I showed

you exchanges in the Parliament between Nigel Farage and MEPs. One

of them was Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian Prime Minister and

leader of the liberal bloc in the European Parliament who does not

hold back opinions. He sent a series of tweet. One of them was that 27

members of the EU should not wait for the disorientated Tory party to

get its act together... He is saying do not wait for a new leader, we

need to get on with this. I went to find him earlier. We have to

recognise there is a problem with the EU. If 52% of British citizens

spoke to leave there is a problem and we have to recognise that. You

do not solve it by leaving the union you do it by reforming the EU and

that is what I said. We need to reform the EU as fast as possible to

make from it may be a more effective and democratic body. When the UK

comes to the EU and asked for a trade deal, would you accept a deal

that does not include freedom of movement? You have what Canada have

with other countries, it is a possibility. If they asked to have

the European economic area as the basis for a new agreement, there is

free movement of labour as one of the fundamental values. I think it

is to the British political class to decide. They want to be part of the

European economic area, in that case they have to accept freedom of

labour and the Labour movement, or they want a more restricted trade

agreement. We have watched you locking horns with Nigel Farage and

today you accused him of using Nazi propaganda and you were rude about

each other. When the UK has exited the EU, will you missing? Absolutely

not, certainly not! The main thing I want to do is not to attack

somebody. This morning you were attacking him with vigour, please

don't tell me... After he attacked everybody. He said to the 700

people, members of the European Parliament, you do nothing, you have

never worked in your life. At the same time he says, I am defending

the poor man. When he has an offshore financial system put in

place. It is not very serious. He looked for it. He wanted it, I

think, otherwise he doesn't... It was so rude with the whole

Parliament. He was looking for it. When I watch you and Nigel Farage, I

am thinking it will be difficult for the UK and EU to stay at a couple

while it goes through this process. I do not think Nigel Farage is

really representing Great Britain. Maybe little England but not Great

Britain. In the European Council the talk among journalists has gone up a

gear because we think we are getting close to the beginning of the press

conferences and after that did between the 28 leaders of the EU

about how the EU will go from 28 countries down to 27. We must turn

back to Turkey. We are highlighting Istanbul on the map because it is

Turkey's main International Airport that has been attacked and we

understand the attackers detonated explosives at the entrance of the

terminal. Reuters say police opened fire to stop the suspects. What else

have you got now? There have not been many changes. There are

ambulances at the scene and flights diverting. Turkish airlines has been

passing... Taking passengers to hotels. Flights are cancelled. How

does Turkish airport security compare with other countries? It is

interesting, Turkish airport security is very high. Turkey is a

rare country where you go through airport security twice, go through

checks at the outside the airport, the main gates, and do a full

security check and pick up everything, check in and after

passport control you go through the same process a second time, which

explains the speculation about whether there was a gunfight outside

the airport or inside. A lot of people believe perhaps security

guards guessed something was up at the outside airport at the initial

security check will stop thanks. The British Foreign Office says they are

seeking further information. So are we. On the subject of the European

Union, it is fashionable in journalism to it what you don't know

as well as what you do and we can say we don't know who the next Prime

Minister of the UK will be, nor the long-term leader of the Labour Party

will be, we do not know what the long-term future of the Labour Party

hells because it seems on the verge of disintegrating. We do not know

how the UK will exit the EU all when it will start. There are questions,

we may get answers when the press conferences start. Look out for them

on the BBC. Goodbye.