Merkel upbeat on post-Brexit trade deal
ANGELA Merkel last night struck an upbeat note about the prospects of a post-Brexit trade deal.
After talks with Theresa May in Berlin, the German Chancellor said she wanted a relationship that was ‘as close as possible’ with Britain after we leave the EU.
She said she ‘deplored’ Brexit but denied claims she was ‘frustrated’ with the lack of detail from No10 about what it wants from the deal. At a Press conference Mrs Merkel described the talks as ‘ a very constructive, friendly meeting’.
‘In the end, there needs to be a fair balance of divergence, from the single market for example, and on the other hand a partnership that is not too close,’ she said.
‘This can be achieved and the EU 27 will ensure that the relationship is as close as possible but that there is a difference to EU membership.’
Last month reports claimed Mrs Merkel mocked the PM’s negotiating approach at the World Economic Forum at Davos, complaining that every time she asked her what she wanted, the Prime Minister replied: ‘Make me an offer.’
But standing next to Mrs May, the German leader said: ‘I’m not frustrated at all. I’m just curious how Britain envisages this future partnership.’
She added: ‘We basically have not changed our stance on Britain leaving the European Union.
‘We deplore it, but we want to adopt a constructive position because we want to have as close as possible partnership with Britain even after leaving the European Union both economically and politically.’
Mrs Merkel said she now wanted to hear from the British on their proposals.
‘We very much look forward to Britain again setting out its ideas,’ she said.
‘We would like to initiate those negotiations because we are under a certain amount of time pressure but we also want to be very diligent and very careful in working on this, which means we will have frequent exchanges of views.’
Mrs May said she wanted a Brexit deal that was good for
companies in Britain and the rest of the European Union.
She said: ‘I want to ensure that UK companies have the maximum freedom to trade and operate within German markets, and for German businesses to do the same in the UK.’ On Wednesday, a spokesman for Mrs Merkel said the British needed to come forward with concrete proposals, adding that ‘ time is running out’.
Mrs May is expected to set out more detail about plans for the trade deal in a speech within weeks. The next round of Brexit talks in Brussels begins on Monday to discuss details of the so-called ‘transition period’ for when the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019.
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