President Juncker said the UK government needs several months to fine tune its position. (File Photo)
Paris:
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said there was no deadline for Britain to start talks on leaving the European Union.
New British Prime Minister Theresa May told Juncker earlier this month that Britain hoped to hold positive talks with the European Union after the June 23 referendum to leave the bloc, but needed time to prepare for the negotiations.
Juncker told France 2 television there was no deadline, since article 50 of the EU treaty, which specifies the exit procedures, can only be activated by Britain.
"I would have preferred the UK presents us its letter of resignation, so to speak, as soon as possible, as I had thought that the British, especially those who wanted to leave the EU, would have prepared for this possibility," Juncker said.
He added that this was not the case and that the UK government would need several months to fine tune its position.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
New British Prime Minister Theresa May told Juncker earlier this month that Britain hoped to hold positive talks with the European Union after the June 23 referendum to leave the bloc, but needed time to prepare for the negotiations.
Juncker told France 2 television there was no deadline, since article 50 of the EU treaty, which specifies the exit procedures, can only be activated by Britain.
"I would have preferred the UK presents us its letter of resignation, so to speak, as soon as possible, as I had thought that the British, especially those who wanted to leave the EU, would have prepared for this possibility," Juncker said.
He added that this was not the case and that the UK government would need several months to fine tune its position.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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