NAN-F-29
Brexit
Seeon, (Germany), Jan. 5, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) Britain lacks experience in international negotiations due to its long membership of the European Union as this can slow talks, the Prime Minister of non-EU Norway said.
Erna Solberg said that she feared “a very hard Brexit”.
British Prime Minister Theresa May intends to launch by the end of March the two-year process of negotiating to leave the EU.
They are expected to be some of the most complicated international talks Britain has engaged in since World War Two.
Erna Solberg expressed the hope that Britain would be able to negotiate an agreement that keeps it very close to the EU, but said it would be a difficult task.
“And we do feel that sometimes when we are discussing with Britain, that their speed is limited by the fact that it is such a long time since they have negotiated” alone on such issues.
“I fear a very hard Brexit, but I hope we will find a better solution,” she said.
Though not in the EU, Norway is a member of the bloc’s single market and allows free movement for EU workers.
It also contributes to the EU budget and participates in Europe’s open-border Schengen agreement.
Some Britons favour a Norway-style close relationship with the EU after Brexit. Others argue for a ‘hard Brexit’ that would take Britain out of both the single market and the bloc’s customs union.
Britain has never joined the Schengen scheme.
Prime Minister May has so far said little publicly about her negotiating position, arguing that to do so would weaken London’s hand in the talks. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine Damilola Oyewole/Ese E. Ekama