Substantive Brexit talks between the UK and the rest of the EU are unlikely to start much before the end of 2017, a former European Council president says.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the BBC, Herman Van Rompuy described the UK’s decision to leave the EU as a “political amputation”.<\/p>\n
He said negotiations were unlikely until a new German government was formed after next September’s election.<\/p>\n
The talks will be tough but hopefully of mutual benefit, he said, adding the UK had to make the “first move”.<\/p>\n
The UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum on 23 June .
\nPrime Minister Theresa May has previously said that she will not trigger Article 50 – the formal start of the process of leaving the EU – before 2017.<\/p>\n
Leaders of every European Union country, apart from the UK, will begin to gather on Thursday in the Slovakian capital Bratislava to discuss the future of the bloc.<\/p>\n
Mr Van Rompuy was president of the European Council, which defines the EU’s overall political direction and priorities, from 2009 until 2014.<\/p>\n
‘Red lines’<\/strong> “You can always start with more technical matters, but the hardcore, the difficult topics, will be tackled after the constitution of a new German government and that will be October\/November.”<\/p>\n Mr Van Rompuy described the senior figures appointed to negotiate for the EU, who include Belgian ex-Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and French finance expert Michel Barnier, as “very very tough” but also “very pragmatic”.<\/p>\n He denied leaders wanted to “punish” the UK for leaving the EU, but said there was a desire not to encourage other countries to leave.<\/p>\n He said: “Any negotiation will be a difficult negotiation, independent of the personalities.<\/p>\n “Of course we want an agreement which represents some kind of mutual benefit.<\/p>\n “There are huge economic interests, but there are also red lines. It is very well known that freedom of movement [of EU nationals] is a red line.”<\/p>\n ‘Not many friends’<\/strong> He said the UK already had a “very special status” within the EU, which was illustrated by it not being a member of the eurozone or the Schengen Agreement.<\/p>\n But this meant it was also “not fully a member of the hardcore where decisions are taken”.<\/p>\n “Britain had not many friends anymore,” Mr Van Rompuy said.<\/p>\n This had been shown during the election of Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission in 2014, when Britain was “isolated” in its opposition to him, he added.<\/p>\n Mr Van Rompuy said despite this, European leaders still viewed Brexit as a “political amputation of the first degree”.<\/p>\n He added: “Because Europe was for many countries still a model, a model that you can achieve peace among peoples and states that waged wars for centuries, so it was a model of co-operation and integration.<\/p>\n “That image of a strong Europe, that is tarnished a lot after Brexit.”<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Substantive Brexit talks between the UK and the rest of the EU are unlikely to start much before the end of 2017, a former European Council president says. Speaking to the BBC, Herman Van Rompuy described the UK’s decision to leave the EU as a “political amputation”. He said negotiations were unlikely until a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":248381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nHe told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme: “Before the German elections and before there is a new German government, I think no serious negotiations will take place.<\/p>\n
\nMr Van Rompuy rejected suggestions that the EU should have given former Prime Minister David Cameron a better deal after he sought reform of the UK’s relationship with the EU, saying the main reason for the Brexit vote “lies in Britain”.<\/p>\n