If British govt end free movement of people post brexit, that will have a price - Merkel
Record ID:
876301
If British govt end free movement of people post brexit, that will have a price - Merkel
- Title: If British govt end free movement of people post brexit, that will have a price - Merkel
- Date: 17th May 2017
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MAY 17, 2017) (REUTERS) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL ARRIVING FOR MEETING WITH INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNIONS MERKEL POSING FOR PHOTO WITH DGB CHAIRMAN REINER HOFFMANN FORMER DGB (German Trade Union) CHAIRMAN MICHAEL SOMMER JOINING PHOTO MEDIA SIGN AND LOGO FOR G20 GERMANY 2017 / LABOUR 20 DIALOGUE WIDE OF CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS CLOSE OF MERKEL LISTENING PEOPLE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "To get an idea of the complexity of the thing. We have 250,000 animals, pets: cats and dogs that travel every year between Great Britain and continental Europe. Of course that is all regulated within the European Union. Now we will need vaccination passports, hygiene certificates and all sorts of things that we have forgotten about, that we used to need them. So it will be very complicated because absolutely everything will have to be regulated." NOTES ON SUMMIT HEADED PAPER MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "It will get particularly complicated with Ireland as there is an agreement with the Republic of Ireland. And then you see how quickly questions of war and peace arise. Because the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is of course dependent on the fact that there is no practical border there and suddenly there will be an economic border between Great Britain, which of course Northern Ireland is part of, and the Republic of Ireland. So there are many questions and I can only advise you to, of course, discuss the issues with the unions but also with your government." PHOTOGRAPHERS WIDE OF MERKEL DURING CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "And then there is one point which I must comment on. If the British government says freedom of movement of people no longer stands then there will be a price to pay in relations to Great Britain. This is not malice but I can't take all the good bits and then say there will be an upper limit of 100,000 or 200,000 EU citizens, no more than that are allowed into Great Britain, maybe all researchers, but please nobody else. This will not work. And then we have to decide what we will make more difficult from the side of the European Union to compensate for this." MEMBERS OF PANEL LISTENING WIDE OF CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS MERKEL DURING CONFERENCE MEDIA VARIOUS OF MERKEL POSING FOR PHOTO
- Embargoed: 31st May 2017 17:13
- Keywords: freedom of movement Brexit Merkel
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016H85J5Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Everything from the free movement of workers and the movement of their pet cats and dogs will be thrown into question by negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday (May 17).
Speaking at a G20 trade union event in the German capital, Merkel said that while Britain would be free to change rules to its own advantage after leaving the bloc, it would pay a price if the EU had to take steps in response to preserve a level playing field.
The fact that so many areas of policy had for decades operated under EU rules meant that disruption following Brexit could extend into wholly unexpected parts, she said in response to a question from a British trade union official.
The EU would "naturally" consider the interests of the 48 percent of Britons who had voted against Brexit, she said, but it was for trade unions to push for a level playing field between Britain and the bloc to be preserved to minimise disruption to British employers and employees. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None