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REUTERS
BERLIN
The future head of the European Commission said she would be minded to grant Britain an extension to talks on its exit from the EU if London gave good grounds, adding that an orderly departure was important to launch future ties on a good footing.
In an interview with a consortium of European newspapers, including Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would first wait for a new British prime minister to be chosen and then seek talks.
“We don’t want a hard Brexit. That is not good for either side. We have a good exit agreement,” she said, referring to a deal that has been rejected by both candidates to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The three-year Brexit crisis is deepening as Boris Johnson, the favourite to win the premiership, has pledged to leave the EU with or without a transition deal on October 31, setting Britain on a collision course with the bloc and his own parliament.
British lawmakers on Thursday approved proposals to make it harder for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament, showing again their resolve to stop a divorce from the EU without an agreement.
Von der Leyen said: “If our British friends have good grounds for an extension, I am open to listening to them.”
BERLIN
The future head of the European Commission said she would be minded to grant Britain an extension to talks on its exit from the EU if London gave good grounds, adding that an orderly departure was important to launch future ties on a good footing.
In an interview with a consortium of European newspapers, including Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would first wait for a new British prime minister to be chosen and then seek talks.
“We don’t want a hard Brexit. That is not good for either side. We have a good exit agreement,” she said, referring to a deal that has been rejected by both candidates to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The three-year Brexit crisis is deepening as Boris Johnson, the favourite to win the premiership, has pledged to leave the EU with or without a transition deal on October 31, setting Britain on a collision course with the bloc and his own parliament.
British lawmakers on Thursday approved proposals to make it harder for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament, showing again their resolve to stop a divorce from the EU without an agreement.
Von der Leyen said: “If our British friends have good grounds for an extension, I am open to listening to them.”
