German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she can see no obstacles in the way of starting Brexit negotiations as scheduled after UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced plans to form a minority government.
The EU has set a clear negotiating plan for Brexit talks with a possible free trade deal with Britain only coming after the bloc is satisfied with the outcome of a divorce bill for the UK.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said he wanted Brexit discussions to proceed without delay, while Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, said "negotiations should start when United Kingdom is ready".
"On our side we are ready to negotiate and prepared", Merkel said Friday in Mexico City after talks with President Enrique Pena Nieto, adding that she hoped Britain was also interested in sticking to the agreed negotiating schedule. "We want to hold speedy talks", she told reporters.
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After calling a snap election in a bid to strengthen her hand in the talks, Prime Minister Theresa May now faces heading to Brussels with a weaker mandate and with her own position under threat. The election led to a hung parliament after the Tories won 318 seats, down from 330 they got in 2015. We want to do this quickly, respecting the calendar. "We will wait for the results of these elections but meetings (on Brexit) are going to begin and we are going to defend the interests of the 27 countries which will be in the European Union in the future", Merkel said on Friday.
"Maybe, this is a chance that we can come up to a more reasonable Brexit negotiations because in the last time (recently) I really had the feeling that everything was just being very tough and it doesn't make sense to be tough".
"At the same time, we say that we want to remain a good partner to Britain". We know when they must end.
"Do your best to avoid a "no deal" as result of "no negotiations".
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