Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday (March 30) that despite Brexit, Germany “must stay friends” with Britain—except on the football pitch (soccer field).
Gabriel addressed a Brexit debate in the lower house of the German Parliament, saying that the upcoming EU Brexit negotiations should not be allowed to jeopardize friendly relations between Brits and Germans.
“However comprehensive and innovative it may be, a free trade agreement must necessarily be less trade-friendly than a single market with low barriers. We have made this clear time and again: the single market is not an a la carte menu. Its four freedoms are indivisible and this includes the free movement of people,” said Gabriel.
British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the formal Brexit process with her hand-delivered letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday (March 29).
Gabriel said he expects Brexit negotiations to start by the end of May, and that negotiations would be quite tough in the beginning.
