Brussels, Dec 17, 2019 (AFP)
Brussels' top official Ursula von der Leyen spoke to British leader Boris Johnson on Tuesday and promised to meet him in the New Year for talks on post-Brexit UK-EU ties.
The president of the European Commission said she had spoken to Prime Minister Johnson by phone to congratulate him on last week's election victory, which returned him to Number 10.
"We agreed to launch negotiations ASAP on future EU-UK partnership. We will meet at the beginning of 2020. The UK will always be a friend, partner and ally," she tweeted.
Britain is due to leave the European Union on January 31 after Johnson, buoyed by a new and comfortable parliamentary majority, ratifies the withdrawal agreement struck last year.
But after that both sides want to get down to immediate talks on future cross-Channel trading relations, before the end of Britain's transition out of the bloc at the end of the year.
"They agreed to work together with great energy to agree a future partnership given the December 2020 deadline," a British spokesman said after the call.
Johnson has expressed confidence that he will have enough time to conclude a respectable trade agreement with Britain's former EU partners, but the markets are nervous.
The British pound fell on Tuesday after reports suggesting the transition period could end before a trade deal is in place.
Sumber : AFP
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