Germany says Brexit deal should strike ‘fair balance’
19 February, 2018
A Brexit deal should strike a balance to ensure Britain clearly diverges from the European Union’s single market but keeps close economic ties with the bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday.
With little more than a year to go before Britain leaves the EU, Merkel struck an upbeat tone after the talks, which she described as “a very constructive, friendly meeting.” She said Germany had not fundamentally changed its position on Brexit.
“We regret [Brexit], but we want to lead the negotiations such that we have as constructive and close a partnership with Britain as is possible after the exit, both economically and politically,” Merkel told a joint news conference with May.
May also said she wanted close economic ties after Brexit, but there has been little agreement so far on what will happen after March 2019.
Britain is hoping to negotiate a Brexit trade deal with the EU that maintains high levels of access to the bloc’s single market. The EU says Britain will lose access if it sticks to its plan to end the free movement of workers from the bloc and no longer follow judgments of the European Court of Justice.
Earlier on Friday, British government officials said London was gearing up to push for the kind of Brexit plan on financial services that the City of London has long favored, but which has already run into opposition in Brussels.
“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,” Merkel 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,” she added.
May said she wanted a Brexit deal that was good for companies in Britain and the rest of the EU.
“I want to ensure that U.K. companies have the maximum freedom to trade and operate within German markets, and for German businesses to do the same in the U.K.,” she told the news conference in Berlin.