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Lithuania backs up EU's stance on Brexit talks

Xinhua, October 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Lithuania supports the European Union's stance on its position not to hold any informal Brexit talks before Britain formally applies to leave the bloc by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the Lithuanian vice-minister of foreign affairs said on Monday.

"We are sticking to our position: no negotiations before notification; the arguments are the same, Britain must first officially explain what it wants," Raimundas Karoblis said in an interview with local website vz.lt.

During the negotiations, the EU should be on one side and Britain on the other, he added.

"We say 'no' to negotiations with separate member states," Karoblis was quoted as saying.

The official echoed the EU's general position that Britain can retain full access to the European single market only in if it agrees the four EU freedoms -- free movement of goods, capital, services, and people -- must be maintained.

Karoblis's comments followed British Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement on Sunday that Brexit negotiations would begin by the end of March 2017.

Karoblis noted that among Lithuania's interests was to keep Britain within the European security system and to defend Lithuanian emigrants' rights in Britain.

The Lithuanian vice-minister also said he believed the EU would maintain free trade agreements with Britain, barring some exceptions. However, the two-year timeframe set out in Article 50 is too short for agreeing on all issues. As a result, the new treaty between the EU and Britain could come into force only as early as 2021, instead of 2019 as currently projected, Karoblis suggested.

In September, Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite said the Baltic country was strongly against creating any kind of blocs inside the EU in the wake of Brexit referendum. She called for unity among all the EU member states and stressed Britain would continue to be an important partner for the EU. Endit