Brexit Negotiations Won't Be Easy, Says German Foreign Minister
March 29 2017 - 8:55AM
Dow Jones News
By Andrea Thomas
BERLIN--German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Wednesday he
expected negotiations over the U.K.'s exit from the European Union
to be difficult, with the remaining members seeking to maintain
good relations but also to defend the bloc's integration and
internal market.
"The negotiations will certainly not be easy for both sides,"
said Mr. Gabriel. "Britain remains our neighbor, just as the
European Union [is] for the British. We need each other. We should
do everything to nurture good and friendly relations with London
also in future."
He said the remaining 27 EU members were united in seeking a
clear and detailed bargaining position for the Brexit talks over
the next two years.
Germany's priority during the negotiations is to keep the rest
of the bloc united and "not only preserve the great European
integration achievements, but to enhance it further and prepare us
for future storms," he said.
Earlier Wednesday, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May formally
announced the country's intention to quit the EU, setting in motion
a two-year window for negotiations to extricate Britain from the
bloc.
Martin Schaefer, a German foreign ministry spokesman, said the
time frame was "tight" and the primary objective was to achieve an
orderly Brexit that minimized uncertainties for citizens,
businesses and EU states. He said many issues had to be settled,
including the future status of EU citizens in the U.K. and
vice-versa, as well as future trade and investment relations.
"Sometimes, you have to wonder whether London has really
understood what kind of consequences this will have for the British
economy," Mr. Schaefer said.
The first priority will be to agree on a divorce settlement for
the U.K.--negotiations about future relations between the country
and the EU can only start after that. "We have to start with the
one, without being able to set rules for the other," Mr. Schaefer
said.
German economic research institute Ifo said Wednesday that
Europe's biggest economy had a great interest in the EU reaching a
comprehensive free trade agreement with the U.K. once it left the
bloc.
"Otherwise, Germany could become one main loser of Brexit," said
Ifo President Clemens Fuest.
Britain is Germany's fifth-most important trade partner, with
total trade volume reaching EUR122 billion ($132 billion) in 2016
and it was Germany's third-largest export market last year. Roughly
750,000 German jobs depend on trade with the U.K.
Write to Andrea Thomas at andrea.thomas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 29, 2017 08:40 ET (12:40 GMT)
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