ANGELA Merkel has demanded EU members stick together and put on a united front during Brexit negotiations.
The German Chancellor was speaking at a joint news conference with Luxembourg’s prime minister.
She said the 27 members of the EU negotiating with London on Britain’s exit from the bloc must stick together and not allow themselves to be divided.
Mrs Merkel has taken an increasingly hard line on Brexit, warning Britain will not be able to cherry pick access to the single market.
The German Chancellor said: “It is important that we do not allow ourselves to be divided, the 27 must act together in the negotiations.”
It comes as a policy paper revealed the top priority during Brexit negotiations for the 27 countries remaining in the European Union must be to hold the bloc together, even if this means suffering one-off economic hits.
Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) said in a policy paper: “Were we to allow a ‘Europe la Carte’, this would lead to incalculable domino effects that would threaten the unity of the Union.”
The paper, obtained by Reuters, was written by the parliamentary party of the SPD, the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition.
In the paper, entitled “Strengthening the cohesion of the European Union – our key points for the Brexit negotiations”, the SPD said any transitional arrangements for Britain after it leaves the EU should be short-term and tied to tight conditions.