British Prime Minister Theresa May expects divorce talks with the European Union to be difficult, she said on Sunday in response to the tough stance taken by EU leaders over the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. “What this shows, and what some of the other comments we’ve seen coming from European leaders shows, is that there are going to be times when these negotiations are going to be tough,” May told the BBC. EU officials said that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier’s talks with May in London on Wednesday did nothing to ease that concern. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, repeating a comment she made after Juncker’s meeting with May, said she was still worried by “illusions” in Britain about the Brexit talks. Nonetheless, leaders stated in their negotiating guidelines, approved within minutes at Saturday’s summit, that they would be prepared to deal with a situation in which talks collapse.

Source: Dhaka Tribune April 30, 2017 11:48 UTC