UK will be outsider after Brexit – Merkel

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday sought to dash British hopes that its exit from the EU will have only a limited impact on the relations, rights and privileges it now has.

Speaking to German lawmakers ahead of a weekend summit in Brussels to discuss the so-called Brexit, Merkel said to applause that she had “the feeling that some in Britain still have illusions, and that is a waste of time”.

While Europe still envisions Britain as a close partner, Merkel said once it leaves the EU it will be an outsider and as such “can and will not have the same rights or be in a better position than a member of the EU”.

“All of the 27 members of the EU and European institutions are agreed upon that,” she added.

Britain has two years to complete its deal to leave the 28-nation EU but is currently preoccupied with a snap election taking place in early June.

Merkel said pressing issues like the treatment of citizens living in each other’s nations, the bill of remaining costs to be paid by Britain and border issues in Ireland need to be dealt with before a future relationship can even be discussed.

“Without progress on the many open questions of the exit, including the financial questions, it makes no sense to have parallel negotiations over the future relationship,” she said. – Reuters