Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, tells the EU she wants a smooth and productive relationship.
BRUSSELS — Prime Minister Theresa May signaled Friday that Britain is paving the way for trade talks with other countries well before it leaves the European Union but sought to reassure partners that this would not undermine the bloc’s trade aims.
Facing EU leaders for the first time since she came to power on the back of the June U.K. vote to leave the bloc, May said she wants a smooth and cooperative relationship with her partners as the country heads out the exit, probably in 2019.
Her conciliatory tone was in sharp contrast to the sometimes bitter rhetoric sparked by Britain’s departure — the first time an EU member has ever left the bloc — including threats of a “hard exit” that would see the country stranded outside Europe’s massive single market if it seeks to restrict the entry of EU migrants.
In an effort to restore some sorely-missing goodwill, May said she wants “a mature, cooperative relationship with our European partners.” She called for “give and take” and a willingness to approach the thorny divorce proceedings “in a constructive spirit.”
So far, her EU partners are standing firm. Several reaffirmed that the EU’s four cherished freedoms — the free movement of goods, capital, services and people — are indivisible, and that the U.K. cannot pick the choicest morsels.
Still, in separate talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the EU’s executive arm, May insisted “that we would need to see controls on the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe as well as a positive outcome for those who wish to trade in goods and services,” her office said in a statement.
On Wall Street Friday, the major U.S. stock indexes closed mostly lower, capping a day spent wavering between small gains and losses. The three key indexes ended slightly higher for the week.