Merkel tells PM: We want to remain friends whatever
PRIME Minister Theresa May last night insisted her new Brexit plan “absolutely keeps faith with the vote of the British people”.
Speaking alongside German chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint news conference in London, Mrs May said: “We will bring an end to free movement, an end to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in the UK and an end to sending vast sums of money every year to the European Union.
“We will come out of competitions policy, we will come out of the Common Agricultural Policy.
“But we will do this in a way which will be a smooth and orderly Brexit that protects jobs, protects livelihoods and also meets our commitment to no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.”
Mrs Merkel said: “I can only say on behalf of all the people of Germany that even after Britain has left the EU we want to have as close a relationship with Britain as possible, which I think is true for the other EU member states.
“What we want to do now is bring the negotiating process forward, Britain will table a White Paper and we have actually made progress.”
She said the 27 remaining EU nations will soon table “a common response” to the UK proposal.
“That is a good thing, where we have proposals on the table,” she added.