Boris Johnson has said he is keen to forge a loose political alliance of European and north African leaders – comparing it to the Roman Empire in its pomp.
French president Emmanuel Macron raised the idea of a new “European political community” with the prime minister when the pair met at the G7 summit in Germany.
Mr Johnson said he welcomed the idea of a wider European partnership involving Turkey and the “Maghreb” of north-west Africa – before claimed he had come up with the idea before Mr Macron.
“Emmanuel has an idea, which I actually claim paternity of this idea,” the PM told reporters. “I had this idea back when I first became foreign secretary.”
He added: “I think that Turkey should be there, I think that Maghreb should be there and I think we should basically be recreating the Mare Nostrum of the Roman Empire.”
Mare Nostrum, the Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea, was used by Italian fascists in the 1930s under dictator Benito Mussolini – who saw Italy as the successor to the Roman Empire’s command over north Africa.
French officials had briefed that Mr Johnson had been “enthusiastic” about Mr Macron’s plan for the UK and Ukraine to be offered a closer relationship with Brussels at their G7 meeting.
However, Mr Johnson told reporters that he was not interested in any formal structure for a wider European club, although he did say Mr Macron’s idea was “worth looking at”.
The PM said: “I think possibly rather than inventing new structures, let’s look at building up relationships.”
He added: “I think Turkey is crucial. I think the north African littoral is also a very important area for the wider European debate.”
Asked whether his idea of a loose alliance stretching beyond Europe was too wide, the PM compared it to Israel’s participation in Eurovision.
Brexiteers, frightened by the idea of any new European structure that could involve freedom of movement, are unhappy about the idea of UK forging a Macron-inspired pact with Europe.
Former Brexit minister David Jones said: “Macron is obsessed with building a new political vehicle in Europe to counteract what he sees as the dominance of the Anglosphere ... we must make clear we are not disposed to particpate in what looks like an EU 2.0.”
Foreign secretary Liz Truss distanced herself from any links to Mr Macron’s mooted project. Questioned by foreign affairs committee, Ms Truss said that the UK had not agreed to any proposal.
“I don’t know the exact words that president Macron has used, but we have not agreed to that,” she told committee chair and senior Tory MP Tom Tugendhat.
Meanwhile, it emerged that Mr Johnson and Mr Macron drank whisky together at the G7 summit in Bavaria on Sunday night, according to a UK government source.
“The PM is not a big drinker, nor a late-night party animal,” said the official, revealing that Mr Johnson was up early on Monday morning for a swim.
