Angela Merkel says Britain will have to ‘live with the consequences’ of Boris Johnson’s decision to loosen economic ties with the EU as German leader hardens her Brexit stance
- Angela Merkel has hardened her stance on a UK-EU Brexit trade deal
- Ex-UK PM Theresa May was keen on keeping close ties with the European Union
- But Boris Johnson appears to have scrapped any trade deal compromises
Angela Merkel announced Britain will have to ‘live with the consequences’ of a distant relationship with the European Union in the event of a no-deal exit.
Unlike his predecessor Theresa May, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has scrapped the idea of maintaining close economic ties with the EU after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31.
The UK recently rejected a EU deal surrounding environmental and consumer protections and workplace rights and Mrs Merkel has now hardened her stance as Germany prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the EU.
German chancellor Angela Markel (pictured) has hardened her stance on close economic ties with the UK in the post-Brexit trade deal, saying that Britain would have to ‘live with the consequences’ of no deal
The UK, led by Boris Johnson, recently rejected a EU deal surrounding environmental and consumer protections and workplace rights
The German chancellor told the media on Friday: ‘We need to let go of the idea that it is for us to define what Britain should want. That is for Britain to define – and we, the EU27, will respond appropriately.
‘With Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the British government wants to define for itself what relationship it will have with us after the country leaves.
‘It will then have to live with the consequences, of course, that is to say with a less closely interconnected economy.’
Former British Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured left) was keen on close economic ties with the European Union in the trade deal, a policy which Merkel (right) was also satisfied with
Mrs Merkel was previously keen on the bloc maintaining close links with the UK, but there is now little indication that the EU will make a compromise in order seal a last-minute deal.
While her ambassador in Brussels, Michael Clauss, revealed that Brexit is likely to dominate political attention in the autumn period, the German chancellor revealed her current priority is to save Europe’s sliding economy with a pandemic rescue plan.
She added: ‘If Britain does not want to have rules on the environment and the labour market or social standards that compare with those of the EU, our relations will be less close.
‘That will mean it does not want standards to go on developing along parallel lines.’