EU ministers fear for Brexit talks after Theresa May’s rude awakening
Brussels — European Union leaders fear Prime Minister Theresa May’s shock loss of her majority in the snap British election will delay Brexit talks due to start this month and raise the risk of negotiations failing. Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the European Commission, said it was unclear whether negotiations could be launched on June 19, as planned, while a weak British government raised the risk that talks could fail to reach the kind of deal that can limit disruption when Britain leaves in March 2019. "We need a government that can act," Oettinger told the Deutschlandfunk radio station. "With a weak negotiating partner, there’s the danger that the negotiations will turn out badly." Michel Barnier, the EU executive’s negotiator who planned to launch talks in Brussels a week on Monday, made clear they could only now start once Britain has a team in place: "Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready," he tweeted. "Timetable and EU positions are clear. Let’s put ou...
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