Hollande tells May that Brexit negotiations must start end of March
French President François Hollande, reacting after British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on Tuesday setting out London's intention to seek a clear split from the European single market, said he wanted negotiations on the conditions of Britain's departure from the EU to begin as soon as it invokes the process, due at the end of March.
FrenchFrench President François Hollande told British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday that negotiations over Britain's exit from the European Union should begin as soon as Britain invokes Article 50, a presidential sources said, reports Reuters.
Hollande and May held a telephone conversation after she set a course for a clean break with the EU trading bloc in a speech on Tuesday. May said Britain would quit the bloc's single market.
"The president took note of this clarification and indicated that he hoped negotiations would begin as soon as possible after the notification of the planned exit by the end of March," the source said.
May informed Hollande of her desire to establish an economic relationship with the EU in the framework of a trade agreement and insisted on the importance of Franco-British cooperation in the areas of security and defence, the source said.
