Many countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Poland “do want to move on” to discussing the EU’s future relationship with the U.K., despite the current impasse in Brexit negotiations, U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis said.
Speaking in a prerecorded interview aired on BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Friday, Davis said: “What’s also clear is many do want to move on [to the next phase.] Countries like Denmark, countries like Holland, countries like Italy and Spain, countries like Poland, can see the big, big benefits in a future deal that we’re talking about.”
The EU has insisted that divorce issues — namely the Irish-U.K. border, the U.K.’s financial obligations to the EU and citizens’ rights — must be settled before negotiations can move on to trade.
Davis said France and Germany’s influence over the EU was an “open secret,” but indicated that other countries should push them to fast-track the negotiations.
“What they [France and Germany] believe is very influential, sometimes decisively so,” Davis said. “But it’s a whole of Europe decision. It’s a 27-country decision.”
The Brexit secretary said he wanted the bloc to “compromise” in the negotiations. “So far in this negotiation we’ve made quite a lot of compromises,” noting the U.K.’s concessions on citizens’ rights.