Søreide strengthened in the belief of neat Brexit

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.Photo: Ørn E. Borgen / NTB scanpix

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide believes the probability of a well-ordered process has increased after Monday’s breakthrough in the Brexit talks.

“We still keep the opportunity open for no agreement. We must be as realistic. But what happened yesterday was very positive, says Søreide to NTB.

She visited Brussels on Tuesday, where she attended a discussion with the elected representatives of the EU Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. They asked her questions about a number of different issues, such as relations with Russia, oil drilling in the Arctic, defense cooperation in the EU and Norway’s role in the Middle East.

Brexit was a repeated topic in the discussion.

Søreide says she is happy by Monday’s breakthrough in the talks. The EU and the United Kingdom announced that they had agreed on what rules should apply during the transitional period after Brexit.

This is an important step forward, although there is still a lot left, Søreide states.

During the transition period, most things will continue in practice as before, also in relation to Britain’s relationship with Norway.

Norway has supported the proposal for a transitional period, but is also preparing for a scenario where Britain disappears from the EU without having entered into any agreement.

Important questions that remain in the negotiations are the rules for enforcing the agreement and the arrangement that will apply along Irish borders.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

 

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